


The Stranger Behind the Camera

by Little_Poet



Category: Saint Sup, SaintZee - Fandom, Zee Pruk - Fandom, ZeeSaint - Fandom, zaintsee
Genre: Beautiful, Business, Cliche, Couple, Domestic, Eventual Romance, Fluffy, Foreplay, Kissing, Love, M/M, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Sweet, Switch Relationship, Teamwork, events, healthy relationship, intercourse, photographer, university student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 51,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24463624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Poet/pseuds/Little_Poet
Summary: Hey everyone, thank you for taking the time to check out my story! I want to note that I have never written a fanfic before, this is a whole new territory for me, so please feel free to give me any constructive criticism or praise even to help me. All I want out of this is for people that read my story and enjoy it :)Also feel free to follow me on twitter if you want to see just a bunch of ZS RT's and the off occasion where I post updates, links etc@little_jayxx"THE STRANGER BEHIND THE CAMERA" ;Zee found solace in his photography.This was his pride, his life and his escape. He travelled far and wide and found himself in interesting positions just to capture a photo. He believes that the world is beautiful and nothing could ever surpass that. That was until one morning he found himself looking at something that had him feeling something that resembled exuberance - a man in the form of an angel.Later on that angel will announce himself as Saint, the light at the end of the tunnel. Zee's muse, the capturer of his heart and his new home.Will this be another fairytale, or shall it be a reality with a twist? Only time will tell.
Relationships: Zee Pruk Panich/Saint Suppapong Udomkaewkanjana
Comments: 70
Kudos: 71





	1. Chapter 1

Zee found his escape from reality in the shutter of his camera lens. Life wasn't so bad, but everyone deserves a release. This just so happens to be his. His muse was always the world around him, he found joy in the most obvious of places. Store fronts, sandy beaches and theme parks. All of the places where people seek necessity, joy and _escape_ – the one thing he was aiming for when holding his camera up to capture the moment. And in that moment he feels as though time stands still, even if it is for just a miniscule pinch of time.

As the sun rose on this particular morning, it melted over his body ever so gracefully, sun-kissing every spare inch of his pale complexion. Refusing to surrender as it flickered through each one of his exceptionally long lashes, begging for him to arise. As his eyes slowly flicker open, he lets out a quick exhale as he grins at the view that hangs on his wall like a work of art that is exceptionally aesthetic – just how he likes it. His sheer curtains drape across so delicately, half pushed aside just enough for the sun to continue to caress his body.

Zee hops into the shower to prepare for the day, he stands under the shower head as each pellet of water touches his skin, rolling down his body. The tender feeling of warmth surrounding him sent hair raising quivers down his bare skin. After 10 minutes of suffocating in the steamy downpour of water vapour, he lets the water spill down the drain as he steps out, turning the faucet off with a squeak. "I should really get that piercing sound fixed" he thought to himself, before wrapping the towel around his hips and tucking it in. He walked up to his bedroom window and gazed out into the town surrounding him. The skies were clear, the sun was beaming and he knew today was the perfect day to venture off to a new location. "A picture speaks a thousand words – but I must travel to great lengths for these words to be anything other than meaningless.. trivial" he spoke to himself.

Zee would always go to great lengths to take the perfect photo, he would climb up ridiculous structures, he would crawl, roll and bend it strange ways that even a contortionist would tilt their heads in disbelief.

\---

Clothes were now on, camera was packed and ready. He was finally prepared and equipped to escort his imagination out into the world with no intention of hindering its opportunities and possibilities.

He drove around town very eagerly and patiently to peak at all the cute places that would look great in his camera roll. At this point in time, he had been driving around for a few hours, it was coming towards lunchtime and he was about to lose to the hunger when suddenly in the corner of his eye he spotted a half covered sign that seemed to show just enough for him to read "enter at your own risk, up ahead is b---". He saw this as a sign, so he parked up at a nearby cafe making note that after this little adventure he was coming here to make himself at home whilst drinking a well needed hit off caffeine. 

As he neared closer to the entrance, it was partially blocked by vines, shrubs, trees and hanging flowers, this would probably deter the ordinary man - but not Zee. Not a single person could stop him when he was determined. He took a quick look at what his best option was and proceeded. "As if that right there, is not incentive to dive into the unknown and maybe capture the magic that I am yearning for" he sang as he passed through the vines.

The path was accessible, but it was difficult nonetheless. As he trudged through as best he could, he came out the other side a little beaten up by the bushes. He has a few scratches, nothing too dramatic. He was pleased however, he knew that anything that's this inconvenient had to be worth it, right?

It was a long winding path that was home to many creatures who hid in the tall trees that were wrapped with vines. The vines acted as anchors, holding down each tree, keeping it grounded – almost like a prison, never permitting them to escape. It was beautifully haunting to gape at as he darted his eyes from side to side as he continued to stroll through. At the end of the path was a clearing, the exhilaration was building in him, he began to walk a little more hastily nearing the end of the tunnel of nature.

He had finally reached the end, he felt victorious. He was feeling viciously exuberant until he halted at the site of a man. He was sitting by himself on a park bench, surrounded by a pond that stretched further than any stone could be thrown, trees that hung as low as the roots beneath them. And alone he was not. He carried with him a bag of bread and a container of contents that at this point was a mystery. 

Zee had stopped in his tracks and just observed the man from a distance. He had never seen such beauty in a man before. No, actually he had never seen anyone with such an aura before in his life. 

"What was he doing?", Zee thought in question. As he stood anchored in place, he let his eyes roam the scene in front of him. There was a small flock of ducks that waddled around in front of him, grabbing for the pieces of bread and seed he scattered around him. This went on for a few minutes and without thinking, Zee had raised his camera and was watching the scene unfold through his camera lens. 

Snapping pictures cautiously, he took breaks to really take in the main attraction. He was a stranger, but he needed a name. "I think I shall call you angel, because you are the light at the end of this tunnel and undoubtedly you are what I was unknowingly in need of". 

As time ticks on he notices the ducks scattering quite rapidly back into the pond. Without any signs of distress, a small dog comes barging towards this man at a rather alarming pace. He doesn't seem like he has noticed and as Zee goes to quickly step forward and raise his hand to warn, the dog stops and sits at the angels feet. 

Zee watches as he opens the container and feeds the dog. After 10 minutes, the dog snuggles up to his leg and begins begging for attention. This is another photo opportunity that Zee just could not miss. So as quick as he can, he raises his artistic hands with the camera ready and starts snapping photos of the scene unfolding right in front of him. 

It was only after a short time that he realised that the growling noises he was hearing wasn't coming from the dog, but rather from his stomach. He knew that this was his cue to leave and head back for some lunch at that cafe. He felt bewildered at the fact that today was probably the most unexpected yet wonderful experience he has ever had. And he wasn't ready for it to end here, so he made a deal with himself that every day he would return to this spot in hopes to see this angel, and maybe eventually build up enough courage to introduce himself. 

He headed back through the pathway and grabbed a few shots of the natural beauty around him and then made his way back to the cafe. He took a moment to flick through the photos he took only to notice that in one, the man had turned his head slightly towards Zee. "Had he noticed me taking photos of him?!" Zee panicked and thought about the potential that he had been caught. Worries aside, he still intended to return, not just for the beautiful man that blessed the scene, but the scene around him was calling Zee to take photos also, at least that is what he was going to keep telling himself. 


	2. Chapter 2

5 days had become that of the past as Zee jumped in his car, thinking about the blissful moments of watching the angel of a man live his life so peacefully. Watching simplicity unfold right in front of his eyes, right in front of his camera, taking in every moment like it could be his last. He admired the way he broke off small pieces of bread, piling them up into a little pyramid next to him before throwing them out to the hungry flock of ducks that surrounded him. He almost looked like a hostage, being held at beak point – " _feed me, or else!_ ", Zee just chuckled to himself at his nonsense thoughts.

Without realizing, time had escaped him as he was lost in his never ending pit of thoughts, and it was already later than he intended, so he snapped the car into drive and drove off into the direction of his happiness. No map or compass could ever lead a person somewhere as such, but a heart fond enough will always find its way back home. Zee didn't know it yet, but his heart was finally home. In a quiet little hidden park, down by a pond that was occupied by an angel and his ability to make the normal seem remarkably extraordinary.

As he drives, he watches the needle on his dashboard tickle the speed limit, daring to increase his speed in hopes that he makes it on time to visit his heaven on earth. _Irresponsible_ he thought, and with better judgement he stuck to the speed limit and travelled towards his usual place – right next to the café that started it all.

The barista knows him by name at this point and greets him every single day with a chirpy hello and a smile that says "so, are you really here for my great coffee or do you have a hidden agenda?".

Zee always finds himself entering the café with a growling stomach and an unhealthy compulsionto just about inhale a coffee embarrassingly fast.He sits in his favourite nook, in the front of the store right in the corner. He has the perfect spot to view the beautiful town through the front window. He often finds himself sitting back and observing the elderly as they take small, fragile steps across the road cautiously, as the children run in circles around their parents as they pick out ingredients for their dinner menu and lastly, he watches as the leaves fall lightly to the ground, falling ever so slow and painlessly as they gracefully kiss the ground beneath them. It is around the time he sits down, that the sun strings through the half opened blinds and trickles through the air, letting little dust particles dance along its rays. The fresh smell of coffee lingers under his nose as he waits for his to arrive at his table at exactly 5 and a half minutes after he walks in. No need for him to go place an order, they know what he likes as he has become a regular, so they just ask that when he leaves he pays the bill.

Not unlike any other day, he darts through the park's entrance and makes his way to the clearing ahead. He checked his watch to see the time and noticed that he has arrived a little later than usual today, but nonetheless he continued his journey down the path.

As he reached his desired location he looked over to the park bench that looked lonelier than usual. No man sat upon it and Zee's heart sank. Many thoughts rummaged around his mind, he wondered if something had happened to the man, maybe he had already stopped by and left for the day, maybe he noticed Zee taking photos and thought he was being stalked or worse, maybe he thought Zee was being a pervert and taking his photos. All of these nonsense thoughts were racing against each other towards the finish line, first place got the opportunity to give Zee a panic attack.

Within his panic he hadn't noticed the dog kneeling down in front of the park bench just staring up. He questioned why the dog would just sit there, so he diverted his eyes back and forth to check his surroundings and he began to suspiciously stride across the park towards the park bench and dog. When he arrived the dog continued to sit there, wagging his tail and holding his tongue out the side of his mouth, drool running down his cheek.

On the park bench was a container full of food and under that was a note written down on the back of an old shopping list.

_**Dear Mr Photographer,** _

**_I hope you get this, and I don't find that my stray friend goes without his daily meal._ **

**_Every day I catch a glimpse of you from the corner of my eye, I don't want to startle you so I keep to my daily tasks, acting uninterrupted. But today when I sat down to feed the ducks, I felt a sense that something is missing – be that your presence._ **

**_When you read this note, I ask a favour. I ask that you kindly feed my friend and when you have done so, could you please keep the container. I would love if you could return it to me, whenever that may be, whenever you feel comfortable enough to come and introduce yourself, I will be waiting._ **

**_I should probably break the ice a little by introducing myself first. My name is Saint and that beautiful dog you are feeding for me is slowing becoming the best part of my day, so I named him Happy._ **

**_I had better stop dribbling on with my nonsense and let you feed Happy before he starts chewing on your shoes._ **

**_I hope to learn your name soon Mr Photographer. Until then._ **

**_Saint._ **

"Holy shit" are the only 2 words that Zee could piece together. He kept looking at the note then back to _Happy_ before shaking his head in disbelief. Happy began sniffing his shoes and this was cue to maybe feed the poor boy. Zee opened the container and Happy perked up immediately, tail wagging even more skittishly now that he could smell the sweet scent of his lunch.

He placed the container on the ground next to his feet as the dog darted for it. Within minutes the container had not only been emptied, but it had been licked from top to bottom, side to side and there wasn't a speckle of food anywhere in sight. Zee pet his head and without second thought, Happy ran off into the distance and out of sight.

Zee slouched into the park bench and threw his head back whilst closing his eyes. Today had not gone to plan at all, and he was now so anxious that sweat was escaping from parts of his body that shouldn't be sweating.

"Saint" he breathed. Typical that the man he has been calling an angel, has such an angelic name. He sits back up and holds the note and container in front of him. This was it, it was time to rip off the band aid, man up and introduce himself.

Tomorrow he would wake up extra early, ready himself and return to his post. He would finally be meeting the mystery man he has been using discretely as his muse, and it was daunting. But for the most part, it was beyond exhilarating. He felt intoxicated just by the look of Saint, so he could only imagine the compelling and invigorating feeling that would brew up inside him when he stood face to face with the angel himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Zee arrived home that afternoon with the note and the container in hand. He was so consumed by his thoughts that when he darted forward with his whole body, he met with foul play as he ran into his front door with quite an extreme and very unexpected thud - this he did not appreciate one bit. Taken aback and sprawled out on the floor, Zee became flustered with embarrassment and found himself scanning the room around him for any prying eyes, luckily he was met with none. With a sense of relief, he stood up, grabbed the contents that have fallen with him and unlocked his door – _much like he should have in the first place_ – before entering his apartment.

He just stood in the middle of his apartment trying to conjure up some much-needed sanity and maybe some bravery also. When he left the park he was so certain that tomorrow was going to be the day that he met Saint face to face, so close that he was in an arm's reach, so near that he would be able to taste the air that hung around them. But between there and here, he has lost his sense of confidence and in turn, replaced it with doubt and uncertainty.

All that he wanted was to meet him, but he fears Saint may reject him once he gets to know him a little, and rejection strings. Especially when the rejection is spat in your face when you are standing right there in front of them.

Zee needed to find another release, taking photos was not on the agenda for the rest of the afternoon, because every shutter he hears just reminds him on Saint, beautiful, angelic Saint. The man who wants to meet him.. "Bath!" Zee shouted and it echoed down the hallway. He decided that it would be beneficial for him to take a bath to release any tormenting thoughts that clung to his mind. He made his way to the bathroom to turn the faucet on so that when he entered again it would be full and ready for him to enter. Turning around heading back towards his bedroom, he chose to place the container and note on his bedside table, he looked at it once more before pulling his t-shirt over his head. His hair raised as if an electric shock had pulsed through him. He patted his hair back down before unbuttoning his jeans. He ran his thumb across the seam of his jeans before he let them drop to his ankles. Moments later his boxers followed and he steps out and trudged back towards the bathroom.

When he entered the bathroom, the bathtub sang to him. The plummeting sound of the water rushing from the faucet was ringing in his ears which had him melting into the water effortlessly. The heat stung his body with every inch further he submerged himself, earning himself a deep groan that rattled in his throat.

The water surrounded him like a warm hug, holding on to every cell on his body. Helping to release the toxic feelings that were swirling around in his mind. After about ten minutes of floating in the bath, he felt rather relaxed, _finally_. He noticed that his thoughts were less like thunder and lightning and more like the breeze on a warm spring afternoon now.

He took a deep breath before descending and letting the liquid swallow him. He just surrendered to the billow of water that floated above him, lowering himself enough that the floor of the bath shot a cold surge straight down his back as he landed. Finally, after a moment of peace, he opened his eyes to look above and the world within his vision became abstract. As he rose back up, separating and breaking through the surface, he felt compelled to inhale a large portion of oxygen to refill his lungs with what they so urgently requested.

Time went on and he decided it was time to remove himself before he became a wrinkled prune. So he took a few steps, grabbed his towel and cleared himself of any water that tried to cling to him and then headed towards his bedroom again.

Entering the room, he looked over to his favourite place - his bed. Jumping in, he let his bed consume him, he rested his head on his pillow whilst staring at the note in question. He was unsure of what decision he would make when he rose the next morning. Would he find a way to manipulate the situation that gave him a better chance of regaining control of the situation, one that met his terms or would he enter into unknown territory and risk being attacked by rejection? How his mind jumped between the two as he let his brain create countless scenarios before he finally drifted into a deep slumber.

\---

Racing against the clock he grabbed his camera, his keys, and the container before rushing out of the apartment back to the place that it had all started. The world flashed before him as he drove towards his destination. He needed to arrive on time today, it was his only mission.

When he arrived and parked he threw his car door shut without even concerning himself with the potential damage that could do to his car, clicked his lock button, and ran like he was being chased by the boogie man himself.

"Fuck" he wailed as a thorn from the entrance scraped his upper cheek, leaving a rather large cut that ran from the tip of his cheekbone to his ear. But there was no time to rest or complain, he needed to reach the clearing, and he needed to reach it now.

He ceased movement within a split second as he stood at the threshold, inspecting the surroundings. As he had hoped, Saint hadn't arrived yet so without any hesitation he headed towards the park bench where Saint would soon arrive. He prayed that Saint would understand as he placed the container down on to the bench before turning around to head back to his car. He raised his shoulders before letting them fall as he took a last look at the note he had left for Saint. He knew that he wasn't ready for Saint to potentially destroy his self-confidence in person, and this was his way of avoiding the task of taking down the walls he has built up around himself and instead, he just added a window – just enough for him to see what's on the other-side without forcing himself into the unknown.

As he wandered back to the pathway, he replayed the words over and over again.

**_Dear Saint,_ **

**_I must admit, Happy is a fitting name for him and I assure you that he was fed just as you asked. Thank you for not running away when you noticed my presence, and thank you for letting me continue._ **

**_I want to tell you that I am ready to meet you, but I just cannot lie. My fear outweighs my certainty and this is rather frustrating for me._ **

**_I propose a compromise. Here is my number xxx, if you wish to know more about me please contact me. For the record, my name surprisingly isn't Mr. Photographer but it is indeed Zee. Feel free to call me whichever you like._ **

**_If you feel offended by my lack of confidence, I will understand if you choose not to contact me. But if you do decide to accept and contact me by tomorrow morning, then I will return to you.._ **

**_Until then._ **

**_Zee._ **

And with that, Zee left it up to fate to see what would happen next. Would Saint contact him and get to know him or would he stray away due to feeling unobligated to entertain Zee's fears? Only time will tell. 


	4. Chapter 4

As the morning persevered, the sky sang in colour and the breeze whistled through the leaves. Saint strolled down the uninhabited pathway that leads right from his back door to the secluded park that he liked to call his backyard. Being that it was so wide, he almost vanished whilst parading next to the interminable expanse of a pond that surrounded him. He continued his average pace towards his daily place of seating, bread in one hand, and dog food in the other. He turns the corner with a beaming smile slapped across his smooth glassy face only for it to evaporate away when he realises that the man behind the camera is nowhere to be found.

His shoulders drooped along with his mood as he dragged himself over to the park bench. So filled with disappointment; it evaded him that there in front of him was the container that he had left for the man just yesterday. Oblivious still to the container he sat down and quickly became startled as he had landed right on top of it. With a sharp squeal, he jumped out of his skin whilst he spun around, much too fast and as a result, his eyes had yet to catch up with the quick change of direction.

He launched his eyes in the direction of the culprit only to shake his head in disbelief. "If this is here, then where is he?" Saint wondered out loud. He peered side to side with confusion trying ever so hard to spot any kind of movement.

With a deep sigh, he returned to his state of disappointment knowing full well that the man had not accepted his note and would most likely never dare to return. Saint felt like a fool, what was he thinking?

As he is rummaging into the bag of bread preparing to feed the ducks with the hope that it will deter the negative mood and release something more positive, he accidentally drops the container on the ground. As the container clips the cement beneath it, the lid cracks open and a note falls from inside.

Intrigued, Saint indulged his curiosity and picked it up to read the contents of the letter. By the end of the letter, he had to pick his jaw up off the ground before he started catching flies. His demeanour changed from feeling rather scorned to animated with no attempt to hide his delight. 

"Zee" is all that echoed in his mind after reading the letter. Again and again, he just repeated the name Zee whilst aimlessly starting to rip up pieces of bread for the ducks. The distraction had been written all over his face as he chucks the bread in the complete opposite direction to where the ducks were waiting.

Saint just reread the letter over and over, concluding that he hadn't scared Zee away after all. He was, undoubtedly, more than fine with palming off the burden of making the first physical move to Zee, this to avoid his fear of face to face dismissal. But now they stand on a level playing field being that Zee offered up a compromised deal, providing his number was genius. "Why didn't I think of this? I probably instilled those fears in him with my eagerness, idiot Saint!" he reprimanded himself for his lack of consideration for the man.

He took out his phone and added Zee's number to his contact list. He wanted so badly to just spam him with every thought he had flickering in his mind, but he knew better than that. Besides, look at where the haste got him in the first time around.

Happy had pulled at the cuff of Saint's pants begging for attention, he was hungry and he wanted him to know it. " _Feed me_ " he barked, continuously which snapped Saint out of his little trance. Coming back to earth, he giggled at Happy's eagerness to dig into his lunch and petted his head before placing the new container down. Happy gulped large chunks of food up that gave Saint unnecessary anxiety which leads to him worrying that he may need to give the Heimlich manoeuvre to his damn impatient dog.

After a small deliberation with himself, he decided to wait until he returned home to message Zee. He hadn't wanted to come across as too eager, or maybe even desperate. So with that, he continued about his activities by feeding his furry and feathered friends.

After he had packed up finally by grabbing both containers and the letter, he made his way back home. As he trekked back, he listened to the birds that serenaded the world with a trill that reverberated between the branches above. The wind ruffled through his hair, each streak of chill brushing over his scalp as he approached the back door of his apartment. Entering with a tremor as the warmth from the swirling heat caressed his chilled skin.

He planted himself on the couch and picked up his phone.

He went to the line app and clicked on Zee's contact. Hovering over the keyboard he contemplated how to start the conversation.

" _Hey Zee, it's me – Saint!_... ugh no, too casual and bland" Saint scrutinised himself. He took a moment to think again about how he could create the first contact. (866)

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally tapped away on the keyboard and the result of this had him hitting send without any hesitation.

**_Mr. Photographer... I let my smile fade today as I thought I had scared you off. I won't lie and tell you that it didn't disappoint me when I arrived to find you nowhere in sight. And if I am being completely open with you, it took me an embarrassingly long to find the note that you had left me..._ **

**_But anyway, it's Zee huh. I like it._ **

**_This is my first move, now it is your turn._ **

**_Saint :)_ **

\---

On the other side of the things, Zee just ogled the lives of those below him that were unravelling outside of his bedroom window, feeling quite discouraged and disgruntled.

That was until his phone pinged and he had a message request from "SAINT!".


	5. Chapter 5

Zee was tripping over himself whilst pacing around his apartment gobsmacked by the message he had just received from Saint. " _Here is my first move, now it's your turn_ " just persisted in announcing itself on a loop, much like a broken record. He twiddled his thumbs between his cupped hands whilst staring at the text box on his phone. "Just respond, it's not that hard, what are you waiting for?" Zee queried himself. It was abundantly clear that he was sweating bullets whilst just trying to organise his thoughts.   
Getting a grip he started tapping away at his phone, " _short and simple_ " he thought was the best response.

**_Hey Saint,_ **

**_I am mad that I lacked courage, sad that I made you feel that way but very glad to hear from you._ **

**_How are you?_ **

**_Zee_ **

The words he wrote were probably a little bold and maybe even a little cliché, but he managed to hit the send button. Nonetheless, he was patting his own back for executing the message despite having the audacity to stand him up and beg him to compromise in the first place.

As the sun falls weak to the presence of the moon, Zee lands himself a spot of comfort within his bed. Sprawled out over the covers, the moon grants a wave of iridescent rays, tracing the outline of every dip and muscle that Zee's body is advertising. The battle of who would send the last message had begun, Zee practically begging Saint to admit defeat as he shot a look at the clock that flashed _3:07 am_. Finally, with Zee cheerlessly feeling conquered; he decided to let Saint win this round. The thought of sleep captivated him as he lay his head to rest upon the pillow. Not too long after, the sweet sound of his breath whistling through his pursed lips filled the room as his rising and falling chest accompanied it. Zee's phone lit up on his side table.

**_I know that we have said goodnight already, but I just cannot banish the words that speak to my conscience tonight._ **

**_I know that I told you in my note that Happy was the best part of my day; well I lied._ **

**_You are becoming the best part of my day._ **

**_Goodnight Zee :)_ **

\---

His joints sang hallelujah as he stretched the full length of his arms above his head. Tilting his head side to side and letting out a grumble; satisfied. Zee rose to his feet and lazily stumbled to the bathroom for his morning ritual. Starting with emptying the bladder, a quick ten-minute shower and by then is when the weariness slowly dissolves.

Strolling back into his room wearing nothing but the water droplets that have fallen from his hair onto his neck before trickling down to create a puddle on his collarbone. He aggressively writhes the towel around his damp locks whilst picking up his phone.

One new message alert appeared on his lock screen. His eyes followed the text as his mouth spoke the words. Appreciation is what Zee truly felt after reading the message. In the back of his mind, he undoubtedly knew that Saint would probably become one of his closest friends. Saint didn't hold back and he seemed honest and kind, which is the kind of friend Zee needed in his life.

\---

The messaging continued throughout the day, including the daily routine of visiting the park.

Saint wanted to have a little fun, so he started doing random poses – honestly, he just wanted to get a rise out of Zee because teasing him brought a lot of satisfaction. He giggled as Zee sent him a text. 

So Saint thought he would take it up a notch. Within seconds his phone pinged again.

Zee was watching his phone intently as the typing bubble appeared, awaiting Saint's sarcastic comment. Until it stops, he waits a moment for it to reappear to no avail, so he averts his eyes back up to see Saint holding the phone to his ear. His stomach consumes itself as his anxiety rises, "Holy crap, he isn't calling me is he?" Zee panics. His eyes scan his screen waiting for Saint's name to appear. A few seconds pass and Zee has yet to receive a phone call, so he turns his attention back to Saint who is running his mouth like it's in a marathon, he sure looks like he could talk anyone ears off.

He notices Saint turn to face him, and with a beaming smile, he stands up and gives a sweet wave goodbye to Zee as he turns on his heels and heads the other way, leaving the park. Zee was startled by his sudden leave, so he shot him a message wondering if everything was okay.

Saint returned a message a few moments later just saying that his mum had called to tell him that she was coming to meet him and that was why he needed to leave. He apologised to Zee several times before promising him that they would see each other again soon. 

\---

Zee acting like a moody teenager, huffed as he trekked back towards the café. His body was suffering caffeine withdrawals whilst his stomach growled at him like a rabid dog. With a skip in his step, he walked through the café doors and plonked himself down in his favourite corner. He got his usual coffee order delivered directly to him and he sat there sipping on it whilst flicking through the new pictures in his camera. 

Sitting his camera down, realising just how tired he was feeling after staying awake until after 3:00 am the night before - "this caffeine was not doing its job" he huffed. He decided to lower his head onto his arms and rest his weary eyes for a moment. Cute little stifled snores were whispering to the quiet café staff members as they cleaned up the tables around him. 

A short time passed when Zee was startled by a tap on his shoulder, waking him from his nap. As he looked up, his eyes met with the person in front of him and his mouth involuntarily gasped. He quickly glanced down and noticed the pool of drool that has made a home on his forearm. Awkwardly he shuffled in his chair whilst quickly wiping the spit residue away; his voice had caught in the back of his throat as he was about to speak. But eventually, he managed to choke out one single word. 

"Saint?".


	6. Chapter 6

Zee was feeling rather disorientated at the sight of Saint hovering above him, within reaching distance too. Saint just flashed him a reassuring smile that only sent Zee spiralling further down into his pool of anxieties. Leaving him with a feeling much similar to drowning.

"Um, what are you doing here?" Zee is in a huge state of panic. In amidst his frenzy; his coffee spills and washes waves of a piping hot river of caffeine all over the table's surface. Embarrassment bubbles under his skin, rising to the surface of his cheeks giving him a red glow.

Saint turned on his heels and went in search of a member of staff to assist in cleaning up. Zee simply just sat there, dormant; staring at the mess he had just made. "S _uch a moron, ugh_ " his conscience berated him.

Moments later, Saint returned with some smiling help. The young lady giggled a little before ensuring that it was okay, she would have it all cleaned up in a few minutes and she would replace his coffee - free of charge. She smiled brightly looking back and forth between the one who sits with a slump, his despair showing and the other standing up slightly amused.

When the table is clear and his new coffee arrives, Saint sits down across from him and makes his own coffee order before returning his attention to Zee. "My mum kicked me out to clean my place up, it wasn't messy. But in her eyes it looked like a bomb had struck the place" Saint answered his earlier question. Zee was still so overwhelmed that he hadn't comprehended what Saint was talking about, he tilted his head in confusion before Saint explained that just a few moments before Zee had asked why he was here. Zee just hummed and let Saint continue the conversation; he feared opening his mouth would lead to more disaster. "I live just next door, I don't get to come here as often as I would like though" Saint continued. Zee just listened and realised that Saint knew how to talk, like _really_ talk. He didn't mind though, it meant that he could keep quiet for longer, therefore putting distance between him and the inevitable catastrophe that was sure to come once he opened his mouth to respond.

Zee's eyes lingered over Saint's ethereal beauty, starting with his facial features. He took notes written in invisible ink, underling the important parts of him; his cheeks, the way they flushed pink and grew wider as he bared a smile unlike no other. His eyes, how they glinted as the sun struck and drew across them, seeming vaguely iridescent. His complexion seems to glow whilst basking under the rays of the light above. He thought that there was something so beautiful about stating the obvious. Everyone does it, when at the moment we can't believe what we are seeing, we speak it. Like when his fingers brushed against Saint's as he reached for the sugar, "warm" he spoke; as if he were to be anything else other than exactly that. After all, he was cupping a screaming hot coffee between his hands.

Zee's eyes dropped to Saint's lips, " _plump_ " he thought, what felt like an eternity was quickly diminished within seconds as he realised those lips were no longer moving but had slightly curled into a cheeky grin. "I'm sorry, uh, I missed what you had said.. could you tell me again?" Zee huffed out with an awkward smile as he rubs the back of his neck shyly. Saint just chuckled, knowing how nervous he seemed he took Zee's hand into his own and cupped it with the other. Reassuring him that it was okay, "we have been talking over the phone for a while now, just relax for me, I don't bite.. much" with a sly wink and click of the tongue. Zee just let his shoulders drop as he let out a relaxed laugh, he shook his head and made the decision to actively brush of his fears as if they were nothing more than crumbs on a counter.

They both ended up talking for a couple of hours, explaining how the reason they have never crossed paths was that after Zee had packed up his camera and waved goodbye each day, Saint had to show attention to Happy to make sure he continued to come and visit each day. It also didn't help that Saint was busy studying in his apartment a lot, so the café wasn't always his first though. Usually, the first thought was some ridiculous economics question that rattled around until he found an answer. Saint explained that his mum's view of the mess was just his room full of study notes and a few dirty dishes from late-night assignments. They hadn't realised that Saint was still holding onto Zee's hands, it was only when Saint's phone buzzed in his pocket that he let go so he could answer.

When he turned on his chair and walked away to take the call, Zee found that his hands lacked the comfort and warmth that they were receiving just seconds ago before it was ripped off like a bandaid; expected but painful. He urgently wanted to have his handheld again, which didn't come as a shock to him, he knew that he was already opening up and feeling comfortable with Saint.

Saint returned to the table, with regret he chose not to be seated again as he felt obligated to return home to his mum. "That was my mum, she is calling to tell me that she has finished and cooked me a meal, and I am not to refuse her efforts," Saint said in a rather sorrowful tone. He saw the disappointment wash over Zee's face and he couldn't deny that he felt the same twinge of pain play games in his stomach.

"Hey, I'm free tomorrow as I have a day off from studying, would you like to meet at the park bench tomorrow, rather than from the distance, you know, since we have officially become acquainted?" Saint said with an optimistic tone. Zee could only nod rather aggressively as he couldn't contain the euphoria that was plucking his heartstrings and the hoard of butterflies that made an impact on his stomach.

Saint chuckled and bid him a farewell before spinning and leaving the café, Zee decided that tomorrow he would let Saint in a little more, he wanted him to understand his love for photography – he would pack a second camera and see what Saint could be capable of. This was exciting on so many levels for Zee, he really wanted Saint to see and understand every part of him.

Zee remained at the café until late afternoon, just going through his photos, taking notes of Saint's details. Thinking about how cold his hands felt without the comfort of being held between each and every finger that attached to the soft palm that laid flat against the back of his hand.

Eventually, the staff had to ask him to leave as they were closing up, this knocked him out of his trance as he profusely apologised and packed up rapidly. Heading out the café door with a large wave goodbye, he headed home whilst daydreaming about tomorrow's events. 


	7. Chapter 7

The sun is beaming down from behind the clouds as the morning comes to a close. Midday is right around the corner as Zee strolls down to the park bench where Saint is lazily plonked down upon. Saint flashes a smile towards him that automatically brightens his day, to this point he honestly cannot think of a single person that makes him this happy. He wasn't going to question it, he was just going with the flow.

Saint offers a bright hello and pats the spot right next to him, Zee places his bag of camera equipment and pops down a little away from Saint. Saint's face is scrunched up at this point as he scoots over closing the gap between them. Ending the scrunch with a smile as he clearly looks happy and accomplished. "I don't think you could get any closer" Zee laughed. Saint just gave him a look that said " _is that a challenge?_ ", but ended up rolling his eyes instead. "If you roll your eyes any further back, they may just fall out," Zee said as Saint slapped his shoulder. The continue the small talk as Saint gets out the bread and begins breaking it up.

He asks Zee if he has ever actually come down this far and fed the ducks to which he just shook his head with a no.

The ducks began marching up from the pond looking for their daily snack, chunks of bread were flying around like bullets carrying through the wind on a battleground. Waddling and quacking between snaps of the beak as they picked up the bread. Saint and Zee were watching casually as they made small talk.

"Hey, watch this!" Saint said with a nod of the head as he opened the container filled with Happy's lunch. Within seconds of the cracking sound of the container, Happy came running out of nowhere, tongue swaying beside him as drool splashes the ground around him. His ears were perked up and his tail wagging uncontrollably. They both laughed as Happy dashed towards them. Saint place the food in front of them onto the ground and crossed his legs, watching as Happy begins to devour his lunch.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I still brought my camera today. Would you like to see some of the photos I took of you?" Zee asked. Zee was flicking through as Saint's eyes flicked with every photo that went by. Zee stopped on the last photo in his camera roll and his eyes glistened. "This is the first photo I ever took of you, at the time I almost didn't even realise I was taking it, I was just so mesmerised by yo- * _clears throat*_ the view, my hands just started taking pictures!". Saint looked at the photo and then back to Zee, his face was flushed and his eyes were dark but also emitting a glimmer at the same time, "what a combination of beautiful" Saint thought to himself.

"Let me try, I want to take a photo" as he began reaching for the camera. "Uh, uh, uh. I brought another camera, just for you to use. I trust you, but this is my good camera" Zee laughed as he raises his finger and ticked it side to side as if he was scolding a naughty child. He handed the other camera to Saint who automatically wanted to take a photo of Happy, the bunch of ducks, and the scenery around him.

Then a thought occurred to him, Zee had always taken photos of him, maybe it was his turn to be in front of the camera. Saint asked Zee's permission to take his photo to which he obliged. Saint starts giving him directions on poses and where to stand, nothing seems to sit right, all the photos turn up out of focus, and the ones that are in focus – Zee has his eyes shut. Saint even captured a mid-sneeze photo of him, he wasn't pleased. After what seems like a century of Saint failing, he asks Zee for one last chance to take a good photo. Zee tilts his head, eyes shotting daggers at Saint. Saint nervously laughs and gives puppy dog eyes – Zee gives in and asks where he should stand.

"Over by the edge of the pond, I promise this is the last one" with a huge smile playing on his lips. Zee began walking towards the pond, readying himself to turn around and pose – _which he still hates, he much prefers a candid shot; but that's hard to do under these circumstances_ , Happy starts rushing towards him. Zee tries to avoid him by stepping to the side, but in the process, he lands on a stick which puts him off balance. He almost regains his composure as Happy darts between his already wobbly legs and Zee's clumsiness disarms him and he ends up falling ass-first into the pond behind him.

Now sitting waist-deep in pond water, he throws his head back in defeat as Saint runs over to him to help him up out of the water. Saint stops mid-reach and steps back, he holds a finger up in the air as if to say "wait, give me a minute" before turning around and bolting back to the bench – literally just to put the camera down. Back again, he reaches his hand to help Zee out of the water. Water filled his pants to the point where he dug into his pockets to find a small handful of dirt, " _gross_ " he huffed. As he stepped back onto the grassy field in front of him, his shoes squeaked as they excreted small gushes of water out the sides. Saint feels to blame and the guilt washes over him. He bites and licks his lip in nervousness, "uh, would you like to come back to my apartment. I have a change of clothes that you could borrow?". Zee eagerly accepted because he was not dealing with wet pants because he knew that there would be rubbing in places that he didn't want to be rubbed.


	8. Chapter 8

They headed on their merry way back to Saint's apartment, as he puts the key into the lock he looks at Zee dead in the eye and tells him not to judge his taste in interior design before turning and waiting for the click. They walk inside the apartment and Zee just ogled every corner of the room, taking in the colours, the accessories, and even the scent that lingered under his nose as he entered.

Saint disappeared into another room, so Zee took it upon himself to analyse and snoop around the lounge room. Family and childhood photo's sat in frames, leaning up against the wall but sitting upon shelves and cupboards. Achievements hung upon crooked hooks that clearly needed changing.

He is just slowly making his way around the room when Saint pops back out and offers him a shower before changing. Zee ponders for a moment before happily nodding, to which Saint offered him some fresh pants, shirt, and clean underwear. He showed him the direction to the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Zee so eagerly wants to remove the wet clothes from his body, the hugging of the damp cloth was far too uncomfortable to bear it any longer. With both hands he runs his finger along the hem at the bottom of his shirt before pulling it over his head, his hair falls back down onto his forehead before he does a little shake to get it back in place. 

He lifts his feet up to remove his soaking wet socks and shoes, throwing them to the side knowing full well that they would not be going back on his feet today. His fingers latch onto his jeans as he pops open the button, moving down to the zipper as it slowly descends with each tooth clicking every time they separate. He drops his pants to his ankles before lazily pulling them off of each individual leg. Lastly, he is down to his underwear, and without any hesitation rips them off and sighs relief.

As he turns to the shower the bathroom door flies open, much to his surprise Saint is standing in front of him with a towel in hand as he looks him up and down with a shocked look written all over his face. Before Zee could even speak, Saint threw the towel to him and running out the door – slamming it behind him. "SORRY!" Saint yells from the other side of the door, "I forgot to give you your towel". All Zee could do was laugh at Saint's embarrassment, he would reassure him that it was okay once he got out of the shower, because he felt no shame, he worked very hard for this body.

Saint was sitting on the edge of the lounge, twitching and fiddling with his finger. It wasn't often that he felt embarrassed, he was usually quite confident. But he also didn't usually walk in on someone stark naked – usually, because he was more conscientious about it, not that he usually invited people to his apartment to shower. Whilst still waiting, the thought train came chugging in. Saint admitted to himself that maybe his sudden bashfulness towards seeing more of him than intended was probably due to the fact that he actually found Zee quite charming; visually pleasing. He was stuck in thought, remembering the image of Zee. Starting with his collarbone and how sharp it was, "you could slice cheese on that" he humorously speculated. Moving down his body outlining every feature. Just as he was about to move lower than his abdomen he is interrupted by Zee as he strolls into the room, with his hair still damp from the shower and looking god-like as per usual.

Zee didn't let him get a word in about what had just happened earlier, before thanking him for his kindness and hospitality. He explained how he is super glad that they fit the same size clothes because he felt much more comfortable now that he wasn't standing in the lounge room dripping pond water everywhere.

Saint just smiled and nodded before offering, "would you like to stay for dinner?". "Sure" is all Zee responded with.

A few hours passed and amidst that, they had ordered takeaway and had it delivered, just afterwards they stuffed their faces. Zee learned very quickly that Saint had a special connection with food, he has never witness pure adoration from someone towards food before. Saint seemed like he had once swallowed a black hole because no matter how much food was consumed he just didn't seem to want to stop. By the end of the meal, there was nothing left on either of their plates. Saint stood up to take the dishes to the kitchen, but Zee dismissed him and told him to have a seat. "You have been a great host, let me do the dishes for you at least", Zee almost pleaded. Saint obliged.

They had sat on the lounge playing games on their phone when Zee noticed that his phone was about to run out of charge and it was beginning to get late.

They had talked for so long to the point where Saint had almost forgotten about the incident from earlier, and time got away from them. Saint could tell that Zee was getting weary as he continuously yawned every few minutes or so. Saint debated whether to send him home or let him stay the night. "Zee.. would you like to stay the night? I mean, I can tell that you are tired and I'd feel better knowing that you aren't behind the wheel under these conditions" he offered hesitantly. Without getting an answer he headed down the hallway to his storage cupboard and grabbed a spare blanket and pillow. When he arrived back Zee had already curled up on the lounge, snoring away. "I think you may have unintentionally answered my question" he spoke quietly whilst placing the blanket over him. He hovered above his face for a while, just admiring his facial details – he noticed a small little mole under his eye and the rough, short stubbled that had begun to regrow. He lifted his head and tried placing the pillow under him, this turned out to be rather difficult and a serious challenge. Zee grumbled and tossed every-time Saint would lift up his head. To no avail, he plonked himself on the floor just next to him, watching him slowly stop stirring. He lent the pillow up against the coffee table in front of him, feeling rather exhausted after trying to overcome mister stubborn next to him. He rested his head on his hands that sit upon the pillow as he drifts off to dreamland. It wasn't long before they were both snoring.

Zee woke in the middle of the night to find Saint passed out in front of him, looking rather uncomfortable. He rises, feeling a little muggy still but gets up anyhow. He grabs Saint around the back and places his arm over his shoulders, whispering for him to stand up with him. He trudges to Saint's room after getting very sleepy directions, when he enters the room he places Saint down onto one side of his bed before moving to the other side to pull the blankets back for him. The clock next to them flashed 2:40 am, with another yawn he walked back over to the other side of the bed and began pushing Saint across.

Saint wasn't having it and in his sleep mumbled, "this is my side of the bed, here, you sleep on that side" before pulling Zee across him and into the bed.

Zee's first thought was how on Earth did he have the strength, especially in this state, to pull him across. His second thought was what was he to do, Saint had a tight grip on him and he was now stuck in bed with him. Zee just laid there, wondering what he should do.


	9. Chapter 9

Zee was partially trapped, both Saint's leg and arm were now clinging onto him like a baby to its mum, his weight draping over him. He figured if he could just wriggle over to the left a tiny bit, he may be able to break free of his grasp. He looked over at Saint who looked so peaceful, " _shame you are being an absolute pain in the ass right now_ " he grumbled under his breath as he began inching away, slowly and steadily. Just a few more squirms and freedom it will be was the thought that kept replaying in Zee's mind as he carefully moved. Successful he was as he finally broke free, he raised a fist in the air and whispered " _yes!_ " before smiling about his victory. As he was about to scooch out of the bed a massive _thud_ rattled him as Saint slapped his arm back over Zee. "Mmm, don't go" Saint whined, but Zee was not getting caught cuddling in the morning, so he was with haste and slid back out once again. This time without hesitating he jumped to his feet and stepped away from the bed, nice and slow.

_Phew_ , escaped his lips as he tiptoed back into the lounge room to finally rest himself on the lounge – where he was supposed to be sleeping the whole time!

The morning sun rose, peaking through the curtains to spy on the men who lay to rest within. It was uncanny how both Saint and Zee's eye's fluttered open at the same time, almost as if the sun was taunting them with its rays. Saint sprawled out in the middle of his bed, comforter half dangling down the side of the bed kissing the floor beneath it. With a yawn, he stretched far above grazing his knuckles on his headboard. He lazily dragged his vision around the room, only to scratch his head in confusion. He couldn't remember coming to bed last night, last he remembered was when he was resting his head on the coffee table. "How odd" he spoke before rubbing his neck and sitting up in his bed.

On the other side, Zee was rolling his head back and forth as he felt rather tight from the poor sleeping arrangement he had been stuck with. "Maybe I should have just let him use me as a teddy bear, maybe then my neck wouldn't kill", he murmured trying to stifle his growing irritation.

Saint nonchalantly walked out towards the direction of his refrigerator and started stumbling backward whilst pulling open the door. He tilted his head and squinted one eye shut whilst rubbing it. His appetite was rapidly increasing as every second passed, "what to eat, what to eat, hmmm". Behind him a grizzly cough hurtled through the air and flicked him on the back of the neck, leaving his hairs standing tall on alert. 

It had drifted from his memory bank that he allowed someone to share his apartment the night before. In response, he slowly picked up the first thing he could – which just happened to be a cucumber. "A cucumber?! What the hell am I going to do with a _cucumber_?" Saint huffed, before turning with a defeated expression plastered on his face. Zee was standing in front of him with a smug and entertained look playing on his lips. "What exactly are you planning to do to me with that cucumber?" Zee asked whilst raising his eyebrows and smirking. Saint pouted and hit him over the head with it before turning back to the fridge. Zee hovered over Saint for a while whilst rubbing his head from the impact. "Do you want breakfast?" he asked in a very monotone voice. Umm-ing and ahh-ing are all he could hear from behind him before he spun around and started shooting daggers at Zee. Zee raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay. What if we go to the café together for breakfast? I have to leave at some point anyway and head back to my car. What do you say?" he asked whilst continuously nudging Saint.

"Would you smile a little, I think somebody may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Zee poked fun at Saint. Saint just sat there looking disgruntled, he still couldn't figure out how he got to bed in the first place last night. "Do you know how I got to bed last night?" he finally asked. The smile that dance on Zee's lips suddenly turned into panic. He pretended to not hear him and just started looking at the menu in front of him, asking random questions about the food he was scanning with his finger. Eventually, they were interrupted by the waitress – the same who cleaned up Zee's mess just the day before. She offered her usual friendly smile before taking their order. Zee ordered his usual coffee plus some French toast and Saint order a single plate of eggs and bacon, pancakes, _and_ also some French toast. Zee just glared at him with a look of unbelievable shock before he was knocked back to reality when Saint again asked about how he made it to bed.

"Well.." Zee let the silence linger in the air for a moment before continuing with a wide-eyed expression, "this is what happened last night". He continued for ten minutes about the night's events and how he had been pulled into bed by some superhuman strength that existed in a sleepy zombified Saint. Saint's eyes were glued to the table in front of him as he was taking in every word that Zee spoke, his finger circling the rim of his drink franticly. It was sinking in that he could have woken up in Zee's arms this morning, he had begun processing the possible outcome of this happening, as Zee finally wrapped up the conversation, "and that's how you ended up in bed!", he finished with a wide grin. Saint sat back in his chair, thinking for a moment before casually stating; "you know, you could have just slept there. I wouldn't have minded. I don't see an issue with two friends sharing a bed". _Hmph_ vibrated from Zee's throat to his mouth and into the air that he was sharing with Saint.

"You're going to regret this, because from now on if you invite me over, I will undoubtedly be taking up most of the bed. You can't take it back now!" Zee again poking fun at Saint. In response Saint just rolls his eyes and laughs, "so be it".


	10. Chapter 10

_6 months later..._

The friendship has only blossomed considerably over the passing months, Saint and Zee had fully emerged from their figurative shells. So much so, that Zee openly admitted that although they differed in age, mentally he felt like a fresh eighteen years old again. He could hardly remember a time where he didn't grin, smile and belly laugh this much.

After washing his hands in the sink and walking around the corner, he was startled as Saint jumped out to scare him. The expression that fell on Zee's face faster than the speed of light was a complete and utter cascade of shock. He nearly threw his phone into tomorrow with his involuntary reflexes, an electric shock of fear that coursed and surged through his bones as he jumped backward. After the initial stun wore off, Zee began howling like a hyena with laughter, "your entire body shakes when you laugh" Saint pointed out, casually. Saint loved this about him, the way his cheeks wrinkled around his smile as it stretched across his face. The subtle kiss his lashes left on the rise of his cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut, and the way his hair fell right above his lids every time he shook his head with pleasure. Saint always found himself trailing off into thought, and truthfully, this happened more often when he was observing Zee. He knew that people seemed so shipwrecked on the idea that everything has to be explained, but he thinks that maybe we just need to believe. In this case, he believes in Zee. He can't prove that he has ever loved before, but one thing he is certain of is that he wants to spend the rest of his life witnessing this bellowing laughter carrying through until he is old and frail.

"You are going to give me a heart attack one-day Suppapong" he hissed in a playful manner. Saint just shot him a look that screamed ' _don't call me that_ ' as he headed towards his bedroom. "Hey, where do you think you're going Sup-", out of nowhere Saint darted directly in front of him holding a finger just millimetres from his nose. "Call me that one more time and you won't know what hit you" Saint spoke with narrowed eyes. "You know that I am going to mum's for the weekend, so I have to pack", his voice hauled behind him as he strode back into his bedroom, Zee trailing after him like a puppy.

Zee launched himself onto Saint's freshly made bed, leaving a full body imprint crushed beneath him. He slowly dragged his body up to lean against the pillows, so he was in an upright position; able to see Saint as he patrolled the room back and forth looking for items he felt were necessary. He just sat there, content with how his life was compared to 7 months ago before he met Saint. Life was great, but he lacked something and he could never quite put his finger on it, but as these last few months have flashed by he found that he no longer yearned for anything more. He knew that uncertainty was something that everyone goes through and that there really isn't much way of proof, but he believed in Saint.

The only uncertainty that he still felt deep in his chest, like way down, was how he truly felt about Saint. Of course, he knew that they were the best of friends but was there something more? This thought seemed to be entertained quite often nowadays, randomly popping up when Saint would simply smile at him the right way, or when Zee would be feeling a little under the weather; he would find ways to bring a flutter back to his heart, letting it beat fast once again.

"So when do you leave?" he asked as Saint began pulling the zipper on his backpack from one side to the other, the outcome leaving it slightly opened as the corner of his notebook hung out. "Well if today is Thursday, and I am leaving for the weekend..." he sarcastically spoke at Zee, giving him a moment to do the math himself.

Zee just frowned as his eyebrows met and his lip gave a pout. "Hmph, okay, no need to act smart with me. Since you aren't leaving today though, could I stay tonight?" Zee asked. "Mm" hummed from Saint's throat as he nodded, "should we eat in or out tonight?" he finally opened his mouth and spoke.

Zee wriggled his eyebrows and wink, "I'll give you something to eat". In response, Saint raised an eyebrow, "since when do you know how to flirt, and so pathetically at that?" he began laughing hysterically at Zee's poor attempt. "Shut up Suppapong" he retorted with his tongue poking out of his head, sending a child-like facial expression towards the man in front of him with a tilt of his head.

After all of the bickering, they ended up compromising with ordering takeout. They sat on the lounge, music softly playing in the background as they talked over dinner. Despite the fact that no dishes were dirtied in the process of ordering takeout, Zee still insisted that since Saint is hosting him, he would tidy up any mess that occurred. Saint always felt grateful for the level of respect Zee had for cleanliness and his apartment. 

After everything had been packed away, they both took turns in washing today's activities off their bodies in the shower, letting all of it melt down their skin and be run down the drain.

"Can you flick the light off before you jump into bed?" Saint asked Zee as he entered the bedroom, looking so lovingly at the bed he was devouring with his eyes. He loved Saint's bed, the way his comforter hugged his body so warm. His head always sunk just enough into the pillow that he was more than comfortable, but still at eye level with Saint's rising and lowering chest, watching Saint as he slowly enters his slumber.

After turning off the light, he crawled in next to Saint – nothing new at this point. He sure took it to heart when Saint said he didn't mind sharing, and it did mean that he had no obligation to slumber in discomfort on that dreaded lounge again. He rolled over to face Saint and as he opened his mouth to say goodnight, he stopped. Sleep had defeated Saint and his eyes lay to rest, his chest steadily rose and withered as he snored quietly.

Curiosity really peaked for Zee tonight, he just wanted to know how it would feel to hold Saint, a little more intimately than normal.

He scooted delicately closer to Saint, resting his head on his folded arm. With his other, he hovered for a moment above his stomach before lowering it and hugging him softly. He breathed in and could smell the fresh shower gel that he himself had used whilst showering. His skin bared goosebumps and his breath hitched as Saint started to stir in his sleep, resting his hand on Zees.

Zee gulped at the sudden change of heart rate before pulling his hand back and lying flat, staring at the ceiling. He fiddled with the hem of the comforter whilst sucking his bottom lip. "Saint, are you awake?" he whispered, not daring to look in his direction.

The only response that was heard was the thumping of Zee's heartbeat as it increased more and more as Saint rolled towards him, mimicking his early attempt. His arm splayed across Zee's stomach, tickling his side slightly which made Zee jump up and is now only inches from breathing the same air as Saint. _Gulp_.


	11. Chapter 11

Despite his rapidly increasing heart rate and the sweat that was readying itself to plummet down his forehead, he thought it felt.. _nice_. He wasn't ready to elaborate on what his definition of nice was to himself, he would rather tackle that when he had less weight on his shoulders, or in this case; less weight literally resting on his body.

Saint's breath climbed up his shoulder and brushed passed Zee's ear, sending sharp icy waves down his skin giving him the involuntary response of raising goosebumps. How laughable it was to him that the contradiction of how deafening the silence was that surrounded him. Saint melted over him, without any further stirring. The last thing Zee remembered before feathering his eyes shut was the faint whistle that vibrated against his ear as Saint exhaled next to him.

\---

Zee's eyes were still closed as his ears perked up, listening to his surroundings. A smile slowly grew across his face as he hugged tighter the person within his arms. The nub of his thumb grazed over the other's lower back that was on display. Bare skin beneath his touch as his rubbed circles continuously without question. Slowly, however, his face merged into a somewhat puzzled demeanor as he laid there wondering who it was that he was currently caressing with his moving hands. He inhaled a heaping amount of air before slightly opening one eye and peeking through his lashes. Both of his eyes broke open immediately, wider than a hurricane as he realised that his hand was playing peek-a-boo beneath Saint's t-shirt. So startled with his actions that he gave his best attempt to shoot out of bed as quick as ever, but in the process his ankle became tangled within the comforter and he ended up kissing the floor with his face, wincing in pain with his legs up in the air. He twisted his body and unraveled his ankle, sliding more carefully off the bed this time around. He just sat there with his head in his hands, embarrassment cradling him with a cold embrace. " _Fucking idiot_ " he whispered to his palms.

Far too ashamed, he figured it was best to evacuate before Saint could see the crimson shade that painted his face. With a sigh, he headed towards the bathroom to freshen himself up.

Saint woke up to the sound of the shower running and a quiet hum of music escaping from the bottom of the bathroom door. He groaned in pleasure as he stretched each muscle out, tapping his headboard with the tips of his fingers. Noticeably, he raised his brows whilst making a quizzical pout, he felt _different_. Not able to put a finger on what he was feeling, he sat up and dangled his legs over the side of the bed. "Well that's odd, I never wake up on this side of the bed, usually Zee is on this side.. Hm, oh well", he patted the comforter around him trying to get a sense of what had happened, unphased but curious. He stood up and made a b-line to the kitchen, craving a fresh, chilled glass of water. He grabbed a glass and the tall bottle from his fridge and watched as it plummeted into his cup, slurping and glugging as it exited the rim of the bottle. Small droplets of residue trickled down the side of the cup as his warm hands radiated heat. The intense crispness of the water showered down his throat as he swallowed, again and again, yearning for the freshness. A final gulp with an exuberant manner and he let out a pleasant "aah".

He made his way back to the bathroom where the door was now ajar and the shower no longer running. Enjoying any opportunity to scare his favourite little scaredy-cat, he quickly burst into the bathroom with a roar.

"SAINT, you bastard!" Zee growled at him before looking down and realising that the shock had loosened the knot that held his towel around his hips and fallen to the floor. Saint was so far from phased about seeing Zee naked, he just stood there hunched over gasping for air as he cried with laughter. Between heaves, he breathed out insincere apologies, even attempting to pick up his towel and hand it back to him. On his way back up, he bumped the back of his head on the doorknob and shrieked. "Karma" escaped the lips of the man who gave nothing more than a deadpanned look. Saint just pouted at him until he cracked and began to show a hint of a grin. He knew that he was off the hook the minute that Zee could no longer refrain from smiling. "Now, since we are even I have two things to say. Number one, I have seen you naked more times than I would have liked so maybe you should put your towel on", Zee's eyes shot down in realisation that the towel was doing nothing but hanging in his hand, next to his body. "Second, did you sleep out on the lounge last night? Because I woke up on the other side of the bed" he asked genuinely.

Zee just spun Saint around and pushed him out of the bathroom, gesturing him to bugger off so he could get dressed. "But you didn't answer me" cried from the other side of the door. "I will talk to you when I am dressed, can you make me breakfast please?" he internally begged the Lord to help him out of this situation. He heard no response, but the sound of Saint walking away penetrated the closed door, leaving a short moment of relief lingering in the air.

He gained his composure and more clothes on his body before exiting the bathroom. He waltzed into the kitchen where the smell of breakfast tickled his senses. He looked at Saint who looked back at him as they both simultaneously spoke. "So what happened last night?" came from Saint and "so about last night.." Zee's words overlapped.


	12. Chapter 12

Zee paused for a moment as last night's escapade flicked through his mind like a vintage film on repeat. He jumped back and forth between whether he should tell the truth, alter the truth, or find a diversion so he could come up with a reasonable excuse. Sucking in the air like it was going to be his last breath before Saint murdered him, he opened his mouth to admit defeat and raise the white flag. But alas, his fate had not yet been sealed as Saint's phone started to ring from the counter next to them and a picture of his beautiful mum popped up on the screen. "Hold on, I have to take this, you can tell me about it when I get back", Saint said as he walked out of the kitchen. Zee just wanted to melt into a puddle as he exhaled the enormous breath he had just inhaled.

Footsteps came thumping back into the kitchen as Zee caught the tail end of Saint's conversation, "I'll grab my keys and kick this buffoon out and head over, sorry I hadn't realised the time. Mhm. Okay, I love you too, bye!". Zee looked hurt, "excuse me, but who are you calling a buffoon?!", he flapped his arms around like a whaling child being bullied. Saint just threw a huge sarcastic smile at him, slapping him in the face with it. "I didn't realise it was late, I need to head off to mums for the weekend remember. So, can you clean up the kitchen and lock the door as you leave? Thanks!" Saint said as his voice trailed off into the distance as he shuts the apartment door behind him. "Um, okay. Shall I clean up the whole apartment whilst I'm at it?" Zee spat his reply to nothing more than the sight on the door in front of him, the same door that left him short of a response to his slight sarcastic, rhetorical question.

\--

The weekend had ticked by slowly, Zee's inbox was dry because Saint was far too occupied with spending time with his mum. He understood and was not disappointed, just lonely. He has become so accustomed to having Saint on the other side of the phone every night, he stored Saints words in his internal safe known as his mind. Each story engraved into each pocket of memory, begging never to forget these moments.

Zee was laying on his lounge, bored out of his brain, and throwing his phone up and down. Regret washed over him like a flash of lightning when his phone began vibrating causing it to slip between his hands and plant itself directly on the bridge of his nose. He cursed out whoever it was that caused the immense pain that throbbed in the center of his face. That was until he realised that the caller ID picture painted a portrait of none other than the person he has been missing all weekend. With gritted teeth, he grunted due to the pain, but managed to answer the phone politely, "well, look who it is, the angel himself". "The what?" Saint sounded puzzled, he doesn't recall ever hearing Zee refer to him as an angel. The panic boiled like a kettle and began steaming and screaming from each side of Zee's head as he realised rather abruptly what he had just unintentionally confessed. "Uh, I'm just kidding.." _silence_ dangled between the two for what felt like far too long before Zee broke it. "So, how was your weekend? Did your mum ask about me?" trying to save himself with a hint off playful cockiness, knowing that Saint would feel him wiggling his eyebrows through the phone. "Wouldn't you like to know", Saint took the bait which sent a wave of relief over Zee's beating heart.

They talked all night about his weekend adventures, how his mum wanted to meet the "Mr. Photographer" and all the wonderful things that he got to scoff into his mouth because he got some amazing home-cooked meals. Saint barely took a breath between sentences as he rambled on and on about small details until he heard the faint sounds of snores creeping through the phone. Saint smiled gently as he stopped speaking. Moving his phone from his ear to check how long they had been talking, ' _3 hours and 40 minutes_ ', with a chuckle he brought the phone back to his ear. "Zee, I know you are beyond waking up now. But I just want you to know that I appreciate you and everything you make me feel. You sure have made my life colourful. Thank you Zee, I lo— Uh, goodnight my dear friend, sweet dreams", Saint endearingly spoke quietly before ending the phone call. He held his phone tightly against his chest as a single tear began welling up in the outer corner of his eye, threatening to jump and end its life, plummeting down into the unknown world around it. Saint knew that he adored Zee so much so, that it would shatter him if he ever lost him. He appreciated the man he was, the man he made him, the strength he has now which leaves nothing short of a smile on his face every single day, knowing the privilege he has just to be a part of each waking day he gets to feel this alive.

Saint placed his phone on the dresser beside him, turning off his bedside lamp moments later. He laid there in the dark, bed feeling empty but mind feeling full. He wrestled back and forth with his comforter just begging to find some comfort so he could fall to slumber. After an hour and a half of laying in every possible position in his bed, he finally found himself more at ease when he wrapped his body around the pillow laying on the other side of his bed. It felt familiar and safe, which made no sense to him at the time, but at the end of the fuss it was this action that let him drift off peacefully.

The next morning he decided that he just could not bear the distance between him and Zee, so he decided he would get himself all suited up with his best smile before grabbing his wallet and heading out of the apartment to the nearest bus stop. Paying the bus driver with the change from his wallet and a compliment, he sat next to the door with the need to exit the bus this minute it halts to a stop.

Before he knew it, he was stepping off the bus and heading towards Zee's apartment. He knew where Zee lived and despite them being friends for months now, he had never witnessed the inside of Zee's apartment other than through the camera on his phone as they video called each other. Bubbly and bright at such an unreasonable hour, _7:25am_ , he knew that Zee would be nothing more than grumpy for being woken so early, but he just couldn't handle not being in his company any longer. With a loud, excited knock he stood waiting for Zee to open the door. The door slowly opened and the sleepy-eyed Zee stumbles forward whilst rubbing his eyes. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! What do you wa—", he stopped. Without a second thought, Saint had thrown himself at Zee and gave him the heartiest bear hug he had ever received, "sorry, but unfortunately for you, I decided I have missed you and wanted to hang out, is that okay?" Saint feeling a little embarrassed by his sudden childish behaviour, he let go and stood back a little, patiently waiting for the rejection. Instead, Zee just laughed quietly and stood to the side, offering entrance to the apartment. Dust almost appeared behind Saint like a cartoon character as he ran passed Zee into the apartment, excited to see the new scenery that wasn't the park or his apartment.

After their usual introductions, Saint relaxed into his seat before looking around the room filled with curiosity. "So, you never answered my question before I left, you know, about the sleeping arrangements that night you stayed over", Saint calmly stated. All Zee could do was swallow his sudden anxiety and divert his attention to anything other than Saint's eyes. "Do you _really_ want to know?", feeling defeated and too tired to find an escape. A nod in response was all he received before biting the bullet. "Well, that night you _may_ have rolled over and spooned me, and believe me, you are stronger than you look! I couldn't get your monkey grip off me, so I had to fall asleep with you laying on me. When I woke up the next morning, you were still in that position and I may have injured myself when releasing from your grip, but yeah, that's how you ended up on that side of the bed. I'm sorry", he just faced his feet hoping not to show his fear of response. With silence filling the apartment, it was becoming quite claustrophobic so he raised his head and met with Saint's eyes, the look on his face was... 


	13. Chapter 13

Saint looked back at Zee, directly in the eyes as he metaphorically put on his rich crimson mask before letting out his deepest laugh. Slapping his knee whilst hunched over, he starts pointing at Zee who looks nothing more than dumbfounded. "You—me—spooning", pausing between words, gasping for air as he laughed as hard as he could. "And, and, and! You are sorry?", Zee just stared at him in confusion, blankly however. After all of the laughter exited his stomach, he placed a hand on Zee's shoulder reassuringly and smiled. "Hey, it's alright! You should feel privileged to have held this handsome body all night", Saint wiggled his brows at him before sending him a wink and a click of the tongue. Zee physically facepalmed and internally groaned, thinking to himself that maybe it would have been better to lie than give this twit a bigger head. Rolling his eyes before slumping back into the lounge, he yawned and stretched across Saint, _accidentally_ back-handing him in the face. "Oops...", Zee smirked as he rested his hands on his thighs that are spread wide open, inadvertently welcoming.

Saint patiently sat on the edge of the kitchen bench, throwing an apple up and down nonchalantly whilst he waited for his -- _*chuckles*_ "human pillow" to return from freshening up in the bathroom. Shaking his head just thinking about how embarrassed Zee was over something so silly, he kicked his feet up and down like a child, feeling impatient.

Zee entered the loungeroom and scanned the room for Saint, but to no avail the lounge was empty. Within seconds his skin had jumped off his body as Saint had come from behind to give one of his frequent scares. "One of these days, I will get you back, just you wait Suppapong..", he narrowed his eyes, shooting daggers at the cheerful man in front of him.

"Anyway, I was thinking. We should go out and take photos together, we haven't done so in ages and I know how much you love it. Can we? Please?", Saint pleaded with puppy eyes. Zee's face lit up with joy, he never imagined that Saint would take such a liking to his favourite hobby, he was so happy to have something else to bond over with him. Without another word, he sprouted up off the lounge and started rummaging around the apartment grabbing bits and pieces along the way, leaving them on the kitchen bench. Saint cast his eyes from location to location, only checking his watch for the time in between whilst waiting. Finally everything was now ready on the bench, three cameras on display, countless lenses, and snacks – because Zee knows more than anyone that Saint gets hungry again pretty much the minute he stops eating. "Can you go into my wardrobe and grab out the big camera bag please?" he asked Saint as he began organising what would go where making it easier for Saint to navigate through what he was and wasn't allowed to touch.

"Camera bag, camera bag. Nope, that's an old pair of worn-out jeans. Ahhh, there it is!", success is written on his face as he rummages through to check that its contents are empty. He was feeling around when a sudden pinch stung the tip of his finger, he ripped his hand out to find he had received a cut. "A paper cut?", he questioned as he opened the flap he had just removed his injured hand from. He noticed a small photo just sitting all alone in the crevice of the pocket. He reaches in with his uninjured hand and grabbed it, pulling it out. His eyes glistened as he ogled the photo of himself in his hands. He looked carefully at it, noting the details of the picture. It was him, smiling with Happy at his feet begging for attention. He flipped it over and on the back, it had a date and the word "Angel" written down. He smiled and slipped the photo in his back pocket, deciding he would ask Zee about it later when they were out taking photos together.

\---

They arrived at a secluded beach, it was a change of scenery compared to the park they usually found themselves hanging out at. Zee gestured to follow the path that was less visited, he could tell because the path was covered in debris and began tightening it's access the further in they got. Finally, he reached a spot that he deemed perfect for a few photos. "Okay, so if you stand right there, and hold the camera on an angle rather than flat, you will get a great shot", he directed Saint. Shot after shot and a success level of zero, Saint felt deflated and no longer wanted to take photos, he just pouted as Zee snapped shots. The smile that made a home on Zee's face slowly started to wear thin as he noticed that his companion was looking rather dull and bored. "What's wrong?", he asked kindly whilst placing his camera around his neck. "I just can't take a good photo, I am useless", he huffed back at Zee. Thinking on the spot for a moment, he walked towards Saint and stood behind him, "here, let me show you how to do it, so you can work on doing it by yourself. If you take a liking to it, I will let you take that camera home so you can practice it. Ready?" he asked. Saint nodded with a half frown slumping between his cheeks.

Zee snaked his arms around Saint and took his hands and held them around the camera, finger above his on the shutter button. "Okay, so if you hold it just a little higher and use the digital screen rather than the viewfinder, half hold down the shutter button, it will auto-focus on the focal point", he explained. After some fiddling and involuntary sounds escaping Zee as he concentrated on helping Saint get the photo he was after, he took the shot. Meanwhile, Saint couldn't even focus on the instructions he was being given, all he could comprehend was the warm breath that was slinking down his neck and tickling his ear along the way. He could feel his heart rate increasing and his palms beginning to sweat, he was wondering why he was feeling this way, feeling _nervous_?

Zee had knocked Saint out of his trance as he cheered about how chuffed he was feeling, patting Saint on the back and smiling with a victory. "See, I knew you could do it!", Saint just laughed brokenly and blandly in response hoping that he wouldn't notice his sudden change in colour, as he grew pale with nerves. Oblivious, Zee just continued snapping photos on his camera, not glancing at him but continuing to give supportive comments, to which Saint just stood there like a statue. " _What is happening, snap out of it. Wake up stupid, you are overthinking_ ", Saint was berating himself internally. Snapped back to reality as he heard a crying yelp escape from Zee as he began falling back into the small puddle of water behind him, "god damn it, not again!", he cried as he once again fell ass-first into a pit of water with Saint as a witness. Saint just smirked and his heart rate began to decrease as he watches Zee squint in discomfort as the water crept up and slowly soaked his pants.


	14. Chapter 14

Saint offered out his hand to help Zee up out of the puddle, but amidst the motion of leaning forward to offer support, he lost his footing and started falling much like the tear from his eye had the night before. Reflexes not quick enough and balance not well adjusted to his current situation, he landed directly on top of Zee. Slightly straddling him, but more so favouring one knee as it is further submerged in the puddle. Automatically, Zee's hands gripped around Saint's waist, steadying him, "are you okay?", concern flashed across his face. He started carefully removing his hand from the waist only to rest it upon Saint's thigh, "I'm sorry that I am so clumsy, we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me", he tilted a pleading smile to one side. Saint looked him in the eyes, his nervousness had him licking his lower lip and fiddling with the fabric between his fingers. Lack of observation lead him to raise Zee's shirt, brushing passed his lower abdomen, he hadn't realised that the material he was squeezing for comfort wasn't that of his own but Zee's shirt.

A sudden shrill ran up Zee's spine and raised the hairs on the back of his neck, the sharp tensing of his stomach had Saint snapping back to reality. "Uh, no, it's okay. Looks like I am no better", he bitterly laughed trying to untangle his emotions. He managed to push himself back up, getting better footing and reaching out a second time to help Zee up and out of the puddle. A victory finally made as he pulled him from the water, both now standing face to face again. Hands were still being held as they stared at each other's features. Tracing each feature with their mind, the small details matter. Zee's eyes dropped to Saint's lips, noticing that his lower lip was now going red from biting it so hard. He took his free hand and swiped his thumb across Saint's lip, brushing it and as a response, his teeth slowly released his lower lip, leaving his mouth now hanging half-opened. Zee stepped forward, bumping his knee into Saint's, a broken cry escaped his lips as he winced in pain. Zee looked down at Saint's knee to notice that there was a tear in his pants and a traces of blood painted the area.

\--

"I have a small cut, I'm not crippled", he huffed, "get out of the way, I can get in the car myself", he rolled his eyes. Zee stood for a moment but finally gave in and walked around to the driver's side and got in. "Sorry, I just worry about you, it could be serious!", he wailed back at him. "I promise I am okay, it's a tiny cut. You can take me back home, I'll stick a bandaid on it and I'll be all brand new again, trust me", Saint reassured him before he clicked his seatbelt in and waited for the ignition to turn over. The key turned and the engine roared before Zee kicked it into gear and headed for Saint's apartment.

A little while later the car had pulled up to the café where he usually parked before taking photos. He jumped out of the car and began to run around and help Saint, but he hesitated. Not only was he befuddled about what he was feeling, but Saint assured him that he was capable of handling himself. He figured it best to give the space that seemed so evidentially wanted and just waited at his side of the car, waiting for the thud of the passenger door slamming shut before locking it. He followed behind Saint with a small distance, running circles in his mind trying to figure out what it was that was happening to him.

Before long, they are at Saint's front door and he is unlocking it to gain entrance. "Are you coming in?", he asked kindly. No response left Zee's throat, but without any further thought he just started walking inside thanks to the invite he had just received. There was tension fizzling in the air above both of them, now and then, they would both catch each other staring from the corner of their eye, or maybe a glance that lingered a little longer than it should have. Not long after though, Saint had disappeared into his bedroom to grab his iPad and stuffed toy that his mum had given him when he visited. Strolling back into the lounge room he placed the iPad on the armrest of his lounge before plonking down next to it. He began yawning and humming away to some music he had playing in one ear. "Would you like me to make you a cup of coffee?", Zee asked in hopes of helping him to remove his weariness. "Mmm, yes please", he sleepily replied whilst rubbing his eyes.

Zee had been in the kitchen for longer than intended trying to find where Saint had hidden the sugar. He wouldn't dare take a coffee out with such a bitter taste to such a sweet man. Finally, after almost pulling the kitchen apart he found it hidden in such an obvious spot... in the jar that read ' _sugar_ '. He rolled his eyes before placing two sugars into the cup of hot coffee before steadily picking it up. Shuffling extremely slowly back into the lounge room, inches at a time begging not to let a single drop leave the mug. Upon arrival into the lounge room, he found that Saint had fallen asleep, cuddled up in the corner of the lounge with his stuffed toy.

Back into the kitchen, emptying the contents down the sink before cleaning up. With a sigh, he whispered "such a waste", he dried the mug and put it back into its original spot. Tiptoeing out into the lounge room once again, he grabbed the blanket that hung from the single-seater just across from Saint and tucked him in. Making sure to pull it up so it hugged him tight and fell just below his chin, in case he didn't wake until the morning he wanted to make sure he would keep warm through the night and avoid getting sick. Before walking away, he remembers that Saint's pants were still wet from the fall. Pondering for a moment, he made his way to the bedroom and rummaged through the shelves until he came across a pair of dry pants.

He looked Saint up and down before pulling the blanket aside, sharing his lower body on display. He sat on the floor next to him and reached up to unbutton Saint's pants for him, slowing escalating and gripping the zipper between his fingers before slowly descending. Before he knew it, he had Saint's wet pants in a heap next to him and he was sliding the new pants on him. He stood up and bent down to pick up the dirty laundry and headed to put it in his washing basket just down the hallway. He was scrunching them into a ball to throw in when he felt something in the back pocket. He slid his hand in and was greeted with a small flat object, "how did he get this?", utterly puzzled whilst looking at the photo of Saint and the puppy. 

Zee just stood there smiling at the photo, wondering what good deeds he had done in a past life to have been blessed enough to meet such a treasure known as Saint. He found an old notepad in the kitchen draw and a pen, he began writing.

**_Hey Sup,_ **

**_You fell asleep and looked peaceful, so I didn't want to wake you. I can see that you have found the photo I took of you. This is my only copy of this, but since you kept it, I assume that you like it. So I will leave it here for you, along with a bandaid so you can wrap up that little cut on your knee from today. By the way, I am sorry again for being so clumsy._ **

**_Sleep well Saint. I will call you tomorrow._ **

**_Zee_ **

He placed the note, the photo, and bandaid side by side on the kitchen bench before grabbing his keys and exiting the apartment, making sure to lock it on his way out. He headed down the street, turning back one more time to look into the direction of Saint's apartment before heading to his car.

He headed home that afternoon, baffled about his feelings to say the least. The whole car trip he drove and replayed their moments from the day he had found Saint, to the embarrassment of falling into the puddle today. By the time he arrived home, he hadn't found any further clarity about what he was feeling, so he took a well-needed shower before laying to rest, hoping tomorrow would grant him better access to his emotions. 


	15. Chapter 15

Zee had woken up this morning feeling much fresher and calmer than how he had the night before. He let out a monstrous yawn before picking up his phone to check the time. The second thing he noticed was the time and how late he had slept in, nearly one in the afternoon. But what caught his attention in the first place was the string of notifications that he had received in the form of a group chat. Actually, less of a group chat and more like an intervention. Over the months since becoming nearly inseparable with Saint, he unintentionally became distant with his old friends. He hadn't realised that his connection with Saint was so blinding that he couldn't see the other people in his life.

The thread of messages continued to flood in, he started to feel very deflated and surfed over waves of guilt. "How could I be so careless?", he looked at his reflection on his phone screen before throwing his head back and landing back on his pillow. His phone continued to yell at him, reply after reply.

**Poppy:** _Man, where have you been?_

**Mark:** _We miss you._

**Max:** _Do I need to kick your ass?_

**Tommy:** _Do you have someone in your life that you are hiding from us?_

**Jimmy:** _Truthfully, I just miss coming over and eating your food..._

It was a combination of his friends trying to regain some kind of contact and communication with him. No sense of regret struck him however when he simply replied with ' _you couldn't kiss my ass, weakling_ ', riding next to an emoji wearing sunglasses. Moments later his phone started buzzing continuously, 'Poppy' appeared as the caller ID. With a quick inhale, he hit the answer button and greeted him with his most positive tone, hoping that he wasn't about to be ripped to shreds.

The conversation consisted of Zee apologising profusely for his poor friendship, and Poppy is more than happy to forgive. All that Poppy wanted to know was why Zee has been so MIA. Silence lingered between them before Zee quietly said, "I've met someone". Poppy was ecstatic, he explained how he wanted so badly to meet this special person and he knew that the boys would want to as well. "No, no, no. I think you took it the wrong way. His name is Saint, we are just friends. You guys would love him", he pleaded in a high pitched tone, knowing that even he was struggling to believe his own words, let alone imaging that Poppy wasn't suspicious. A laugh burst through the speaker as Poppy could hear the anxiety rolling off of Zee's tongue as he spoke. "Look, the boys and I miss you and we want nothing more than to see you. Since it seems like you and Saint come as a packaged deal now. Would you be up for catching up over drinks? Saint is invited and I know the boys would agree that we would love to meet the person who can make you forget about your friends", he kindly spoke, making sure that Zee could hear the playfulness at the end of his sentence; trying to avoid causing more guilt.

"I'm down, I'd have to ask Saint. Truthfully I don't know if the boy has ever even held a drink in his hand, let alone consumed one. You just let me know when and where and I'll sort out the rest", he said to Poppy before saying their goodbyes and hanging up the call.

Zee lifts himself and hangs over the side of his bed. The day speaks sadness, as the sun hides behind grey clouds and the chilled air clings to his window. He stands and walks over to stare at the living below, just watching the people rush around trying to get out of the gloomy weather. As he turns his body, his arm struck the cold glass window, sending shrills instantly up his arm and creating discomfort all over. The way he wanted to curse hung at the back of his throat before he swallowed it and continued to head towards the bathroom. Not unlike any other day, he turned the faucet on with its piercing screech, standing back and watching the waterfall as it warms up. Condensation stirred in the air, creating drops of water that began to fall down the shower door. Mist filled the room as he submerged himself under the hot water. The sting of pain slammed against his skin as he went from ice cold to scorching hot when stepping into the steamy shower. Eventually, with persistence and strong will power, he stayed until the waterfall until it reached a less aggressive temperature. Grabbing his body wash, he popped the lid open before squeezing it into his palm. Rubbing his hands together before caressing every nook and cranny of his body, washing away the guilt he felt this morning and creating a clean canvas. What he would wear today as a result of what may happen will also only be temporary, because he knew that at the end of the day he would be back where he is right now washing it off all over again.

After dressing himself, he got himself situated at his desk and opened his laptop, turning it on. He sat there tapping away at the keyboard with boredom as he waiting for it to boot up. Staring around the room and into space when his phone lit up, it was a message from Poppy stating that the boys were all free tonight at 8:00 pm. A thumbs-up response soared through the phone and hitting Poppy's screen. He exited the message with Poppy and flicked across to his conversation with Saint.

**_Hey, how did you sleep? Did you end up moving from the lounge?_ **

**_Anyway, my old friends who you have never met, want to meet you... They are wanting to go out tonight for drinks and have invited you. Would you be interested? You can say no if you want!_ **

**_So yeah, let me know._ **

**_Zee :)_ **

Within seconds he received a reply from Saint, just simply explaining that he ended up sleeping the whole night on the lounge and feels super tight from staying in one position, so maybe a few drinks would loosen him up a bit, so he was all for a night out. They exchanged details of the night, deciding to go together but they would get public transport there so there was no possible way of making poor decisions whilst under the influence.

Saint agreed to get to Zee's at 7:00 pm and they would leave together and be sure to get there around the time Poppy said they would meet. The rest of the afternoon consisted of Zee doing work-outs, looking over all of the photos he took the other day at the beach, and then getting ready for the night.

It was nearing the meetup time, they had arrived a little early to the venue to check it out before being bombarded with greetings and questions that were seeking detailed answers. A swell of disquietude whirled around for Zee as he had high expectations that tonight's events wouldn't fall short of unusual and anxiety-provoking. Saint could feel the fear radiating from Zee, so he placed his hand on the small of his back and smiled reassuringly, "hey, there is nothing to be worried about. Other than maybe the embarrassment you might feel when I drink you under the table later", he winked before patting Zee on the back and laughing.

Yelling roared through the crowd of people around them as the boys finally showed up, chanting Saint and Zee's names, grabbing their full attention. Saint threw his hand out, shaking each one of the boys' hands before saying, "Hey, I'm Saint. It's so nice to meet you", turning to face Zee and giving off a knowing grin, "finally putting a face to the name, Zee talks so highly of you all!".

The boys simultaneously burst into hysterics, "it's okay Saint, we have already cleared things up with Zee, we know who is his priority. All we ask is that you share him a little, we miss the weirdo", Max said from the side. "I reckon, the first round of drinks on Zee!", all of the boys chant whilst staring at him, he just turns on his heels and heads towards the bar to grab a round. He stares back to see Saint laughing with the boys. "Hm, maybe tonight won't be so bad after all, they are all getting along, maybe it will all go smoothly and I can relax a little", Zee said to himself. "Probably", casually fell out of the bartender's mouth as he handed him his change and the drinks. Zee just nodded with a shocked expression and headed back to the table to begin his night of fun with the boys.


	16. Chapter 16

The room was spinning for not just one, but all of the boys in the circle. Sprawled out on each chair sitting around a table that became home to countless empty glasses, a hiccup escaped Saint's throat before trailing off with a giggle. The giggle sounded sensational to the boys around and thought it better suited a small child, not a grown man who has just downed countless alcoholic beverages.

"Zeeeee", Saint cried whilst looking up at him as he slouched and held onto his arm.

After a dreadful hiccup filled few minutes, Zee wrapped his arm around Saint and pulled him back into the chair that they were sharing. With the scent of alcohol pouring from him as he spoke, "you see, they are my favourite people, BUT, if they ever mess with you...", Zee started to say before he was cut off by hearing the hurl of Jimmy pouring out the colourful waste of tonight's beverage selection. "GROSS!", fell from the lips of everyone, including a young lady who was caught in the splash zone whilst walking past. Mark and Max jumped up to assist the young lady to the bathroom whilst Tommy helped Jimmy up, bidding the boys a goodbye before leaving the bar to call for a taxi.

Left sitting around the table were Saint, Zee, and Poppy who was staring at the pair huddled together with Zee's arm wrapped around Saint's neck, pulling him closer, noses only inches apart as they spoke to each other, laughing at jokes that only their drunk asses would understand.

The night grew older and the moon ran from the stalking sun as the minutes ticked by. It was time for the bartender to send his customers home. Max and Mark had long returned to the table and all three including Poppy were just ogling Saint and Zee who seemed to be in their own little world.

From the side, they heard "alright boys, time to pack up and head home. I have to clean up after you before I can close up, so scoot", he laughed whilst leaning on a broom next to them. The boys packed up and scrambled out of the bar, two taxis were already out the front waiting, "that is a solid bartender right there, calling us taxi's before kicking us out", Mark slurred in appreciation. Poppy grabbed Saint by the arm and pulled him away quickly whilst Zee gave his address to the taxi driver.

"Thank you Saint", was all Poppy said. Saint being intoxicated just tilted his head, eyes looking dazed and smiled largely before stumbling back to Zee who helped him into the taxi, sloppy movements at the most but they both ended up safely in the taxi. The other three boys headed in the second taxi back to their houses.

The taxi ride felt like an eternity for them both who were experiencing the world around them spinning. It took the taxi driver two attempts to get their attention to tell them that he has arrived and needed to be paid. Saint jumped to the occasion and paid the driver, Zee of course opposed this, but the driver just wanted them out and accepted before asking them to leave. The boys jumped out and both shuttled towards the entrance to Zee's apartment. Lack of balance threw Zee off which had him leaning up against the door whilst trying to find the hole in which his key belonged. After four whole minutes of jitters and slipping he finally managed to get the key in and they both tumbled inside. Shutting and locking the door behind them, Saint whined that he wanted to have a shower and didn't want to go to bed feeling so sticky and filthy. "Well go get in the shower?", Zee started, sounding more like a question. "Mmmmm, can you help me, my hands are all tingly. I don't think that I can turn the tap on... Please", he whaled and begged for assistance. He exhaled through his nose, pinching the bridge of his nose at how much of a child Saint sounded before responding with a simple "fine".

Both of them are still unbelievably unstable and dizzy. Zee spun the tap on and held his hand under until he felt it was at a good temperature, stepping aside and ushering Saint to stick his hand under also and double-check that it was okay for him. He popped his hand under and turned back to face Zee and nodded his head to the point where it made him overly unstable and he started to fall back, tripping over the bar at the bottom of the shower. Zee tried to catch him and stop him from plummeting but both were far too intoxicated to manage this, and they both ended up under the running water fully clothed.

Saint's back was up against the shower wall with Zee hovering over him, hands either side of his head trying to hold himself up. A giggle escaped Saint and his cheeks wobbled along with it, making Zee smile with adoration. "You have the sweetest smile and cheeks Saint", the words melted the heart of the man between his arms. The smile remained on his face even after the giggle had been left in the distant past, Zee found his hand moving all by itself as it raised to Saint's cheek, resting it around the curve of his face. The pad of his thumb caressed under his eye, it was glistening a little more than usual as the water trickled down his face from the streaming shower above. He moved in closer, the space getting tighter as his other arm dropped down from next to his head to around Saint's wrist. The heat seemed to exchange from the air around them into each-others cheeks.

Zee inched closer until he was only centimetres away from Saint's lips, he just lingered there, not moving. Whilst dazed, Saint pulled his wrist from the hand wrapped around it and roughly grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling his lips towards his, meeting the mixed taste of alcohol and something unknown. It was a steady, unwavering kiss that didn't dare travel any further. Zee pulled away, shocked at the haste behind what had just happened, he looked back at the eyes looking into his soul. Pupils dilated and almost hungry, he lunged forward again closing the space between them. The kiss grew deeper and more heated, his hand re-grabbed Saint's wrist, holding it up against the wet shower wall whilst pushing his body against the strong figure beneath him. The wet clothes clung to each-others skin, defining each feature leaving no mystery. The water ran over and between them, in fact, it was the only thing that would come between them at this moment. Saint slowly traced his free hand down Zee's chest, brushing over the buttons that sat down the centre of his stomach. Continuing to cradle Saint's face with his free hand, his breath hitched as he felt the hand on him getting lower and more curious. He moaned quietly as Saint tugged on the lower seam of his shirt before tickling his bare skin. Abdomen now beneath the caress of his hand, trailing his fingers over each curve. Feeling the tension build, he moved his hand to the side of the waist and squeezed. Zee jolted back, shocked from the pinch caused by Saint's grip, their lips now feeling the loss of one another, he was panting and this caused Saint to grow hungrier, more passionate. He ripped his hand from above and grabbed the top of Zee's shirt, ripping it apart, each button popping off and landing scattered all over the floor.

Zee was now standing over him, shirt apart, chest on display whilst rising up and down rapidly. Saint moved down and kissed him on the arch of his collarbone, moving up to the neck and giving him a small bite. He couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Saint with both hands, crashing their lips together. He begged for entrance, he wanted to taste him, he wanted nothing more than to feel him at this moment. Saint took the opportunity to explore beneath the shirt he had just torn and the tension was rising between their bodies. The lust and moment were taking over and Saint found himself dipping his fingers along the hem of Zee's jeans, tugging on them, craving to feel more of him. Suddenly the water dropped in temperature and they were being showered by ice-cold pellets. The moment that they had just experienced had dragged on for so long that the heat had escaped and ran out. They both shrieked and the taps were quickly turned off. Both standing in the shower that was no longer running, staring at each other before they both burst into laughter, Zee dropping his head onto Saint's shoulder still heaving. Eventually, they decided it would be best to get out and change into something dry before they got sick, the alcohol was still amongst them as they both saw the world turning around them.

After a ridiculous amount of struggle, they both ended up in dry clothes and laying down on the bed, side by side. "So", "so", they both spoke. "Truthfully, I am really having an issue seeing straight, can we continue this conversation in the morning when we are both capable of having it sensibly and soberly?", Zee asked. A muffled agreement escaped Saint's throat as he nodded before tilting his head to the side to enter the realm of sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

The morning sun threatened both men as it pierced through the large translucent canvas that was simply the window hanging next to the bed. Beads of dust pranced in the air above them, frolicking down into the back of Zee’s throat as he slept with his mouth wide open, looking much like he was sitting in a dentist’s chair ready to have his mouth scavenged for potential treasure that the dentist could dig out. He dramatically coughed and an invisible puff of dust launched back into the air above him. Breaking from his slumber he slowly opened his eyes to gain the vision of the room, navigating and pinpointing his location, his bedroom. He scrunched his face before rubbing his nose so far up that a crease set up camp just above the knob at the end of his nose. He rolled his head to the side to see Saint sprawled out across the bed, not down it, across it. One leg resting on Zee’s stomach, the other tangled between his legs. He groaned as the headache slowly started seeping into his head quicker than the alcohol sent him on a drunken high last night. A groan charged between his lips as he whacked Saint to get off, he needed water and he needed it now.

Saint tossed a little, lifting his leg higher and accidentally kneeing Zee in the chin along the way, “come on Sup!”, he cursed him whilst clutching his jaw. “Hmm?”, a sleepy boy murmured whilst rolling over and spreading his lashes to see who was interrupting his sleep. Blissfully he raised his cheeks to Zee with a wide grin, ear to ear as his stomach expanded as it filled with butterflies. He wasn’t sure if it were butterflies or the whole zoo stampeding through his stomach as the colour rushed to his cheeks. He shyly picked himself up, scooting a few inches back from Zee, as they both avoided eye contact, one rubbing his neck and looking down whilst the other bit his lip with agonising anticipation. Both were just replaying last night's intoxicated events, feeling rather embarrassed that the alcohol seemed in control, and neither wanted that to be the reason behind what happened. Saint remembers being told in his early adulthood that alcohol simply is liquid courage, it helps you speak the truth, which in some cases can get you into a lot of trouble. Was last night a means to show his true intentions?

In unison, much like the night before they both spoke, “about last night”, before they both laughed shyly at each other. Zee looks down and thought to himself “I know that there is something here, what am I so afraid of? I should just be truthful with both of us... I have feelings for him, look at him. He is beyond pleasant to look at, his eyes possess all kinds of emotions that melt as they flicker in the sunlight, before he shades them with his hands to usher away the harsh rays. The way he breathes, the way he smells, the way his lip tucks between his teeth and tongue when he is nervous, the way he feels and tastes.. the way he tastes”, the rich flavour of Saint danced on his tongue once more, the aroma of lust that blanketed them during that moment was beyond intense, all of this vibrated his heartstrings.

“Saint, I need to tell you a truth, a truth that was a secret even to myself it would seem. I am sure of myself now, and I think you should know how I…”, Zee begins to divulge when he hears the crack of his apartment door shutting, both men avert their gaze in the direction of the noise and perk up, ready to face whoever entered the premises unannounced.

“Honey, are you home?”, the look on Zee’s face was ghastly, he was painted a lighter shade of pale. “What is she doing here?”, he thought to himself as he began to panic, huffing, and puffing which caught Saint’s attention. “Can you just wait here for a moment Sup?”, he strongly requested pleadingly as he lifted his arms in a begging motion, nodding his head as a thank you before jumping out of bed and heading out to the entrance of the apartment.

“Ahh, there you are my baby boy. You aren’t looking so well. Good thing I brought you coffee and some breakfast!”, she pursed her lips and kissed him on the cheek lovingly. The smell hit like a tonne of bricks and he went from a shade of white to an off green, as last night’s contents were climbing back up, urging to escape his stomach.

“Mum, what are you doing here?”, he chuffed out whilst holding back the gag that was threatening to dry retch. She shuffled around the kitchen and noticed that it was in better condition than the last time she visited. “Hm, you are clean my boy, but never this clean. Are you trying to impress someone?”, she asked with a raised brow. He just looked back in the direction of his room before looking back to meet her curious gaze. Her eyes grew wide in the realisation that he was not here alone. “Umm, did you want to meet for lunch a little later? I need to get cleaned up and take some pain killers for this headache?”, he asked her, praying that she would take the hint to leave.

Hint well received, she grabbed him by the cheek and told him that she was proud and loved him. Reaching for a hug, she rested her head on his shoulder whilst standing on her toes, trying to reach the height that she didn’t quite possess. After she gave him a near deathly squeeze, she began pulling away and opening her eyes only to spot a random man standing in the doorway behind her son. “Oh. Hi! Don’t mind me, I was just leaving!”, she directed at Saint before waving goodbye to her son and exiting the apartment.

“Alright, so I have deduced that she must be your mother. Unless… you are into older women?”, he sourly speculated to which Zee scrunched his face in disgust. “Oi! Stop. You could have stopped at mum”, he said with bulging eyes, “yes, she is my mum”. The small talk went about like nothing, only did it halt when Zee noticed the ogling coming from Saint directed at the breakfast his mum had left him. With a chuckle, he slid the bag over to Saint and gestured that he could have it. The joy that filled both of them as one began submerging face-first into his food and the other at the delight of pleasing him, he stood directly across from him. Saint was still feeding himself as if he had never been fed before, sitting at the bench and Zee standing at the sink, just finishing up some leftover dishes from the day before.

“Saint”, he said blandly, to which only received a quick upward nod from the target audience.

“I think I have feelings for you”, he blurted out.


	18. Chapter 18

“Can you repeat that please?”, Saint asked.

“I have feelings for you”, he responded in a matter of fact tone.

“Can you say that just one more time, I don’t think I quite heard you correctly”, again Saint asked.

He walked around the kitchen bench and planted himself directly next to Saint, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning his body to face him. Saint still had food hanging out of his mouth, because despite asking questions; he was still hungry. “Saint. I am only going to say this one more time okay, are you ready this time?”, Zee spoke as if he was talking to a child and a nodded response was received. “I have feelings for you, truthfully I didn’t know if I was going to tell you because I don’t want to lose this friendship. I don’t want you to feel like you need to return the feelings, I don’t want you to feel like anything has to change at all. My only priority is that you are happy and comfortable. I don’t need us to be any more than what we already are if it means you are happy. Do you understand?”, looking Saint directly in the eyes as he confessed his feelings.

The air was stale around them, “how about we talk about this another time, for now, let’s just focus on getting you fed and for me to destroy this hangover. I’m going to jump in the shower and get freshened up. We should try and have a relaxed day, maybe watch a movie or something, what do you think?” Zee asked Saint, hoping to diffuse some of the tension.

Finally speaking after such a long time of silence, Saint continued, “uh, yeah. I think a movie would be good. Should we invite the boys over too, I’m sure they are feeling the effects of last night too, they could probably benefit from relaxing all day with movies. Would that be alright?”, the nerves were evident in Saint’s voice as he tried not to think about the confession he had just received. “Sure, I’ll shoot them a text now and have a shower. Get yourself comfortable and pick out a few movies you want to watch. I’ll be back shortly”, he smiled before leaving the room, phone in hand.

Saint found himself rummaging through movie titles, unintentionally avoiding anything with a hint of romance in it; not just because he was trying to avoid awkwardness, but he figured the boys would prefer something a little more masculine, Saint rolled his eyes. He came across some action and horror movies, “perfect” he thought as he grabbed the few movies and placed them on the coffee table waiting for Zee to get back. He didn’t mean to come across so startled when the confession was thrown at him, deep down he knew there was something between them, especially after their performance in the shower last night. He could swear that the taste of Zee’s mouth still lingered on his tongue, even now after consuming breakfast. The thoughts swirled around his mind, remembering the way their bodies pressed together, barely escaping the skin to skin touch as the water created less of a barrier between. His toes started to curl and he nipped at his lip whilst reliving the moment and the butterflies returned to his stomach once again.

As quickly as they arrived, they left as he was shocked back to reality with the sound of knocking at the door. He turned back to see if Zee had finished up in the shower yet, but to no avail so he decided to answer the door himself. He starts walking to the door but he caught his reflection in the hanging mirror next to him. His lower lip was swollen, he had bitten down a little too hard that he had bruised it lightly and his cheeks were shaded red. He ruffled his hair and took a deep breath before opening the door.

The abrasive mood that immediately entered the room as the door was pushed open, intruding promptly Poppy, Max, Mark, Jimmy, and Tommy b-lined for the loungeroom, each grabbing Saint’s hand to shake it on their way passed. Jimmy was the last to enter the house and as he was shuffling past, he smacked Saint with a duffle bag full of snacks, sending him back a few steps. He looked outside one last time before closing the door and heading back into the loungeroom.

Zee walked out in nothing but a towel to let Saint know that the shower was free in case he wanted to freshen up also, only to be bombarded with wolf whistles and catcalls from him dear old friends. Without a second thought, he covered as much of his chest with his arms before uncomfortably smiling and greeting everyone. Everyone was left in tears as they threw themselves all over the loungeroom in laughter from the back and forth banter. The embarrassment had gotten the better of him, and he trotted off into the bedroom to cover the bare skin.

Saint once again was stuck alone with the boys who just poked fun at Zee from the other room. After everything settled down and he returned from clothing himself, everyone looked through the movies that Saint had picked earlier. Everyone was all for horror except for Tommy, he hated horror and knew he would not settle well tonight when trying to get to sleep. “Don’t worry Tom, I’ll protect you from the big bad monsters”, Jimmy tried to say so reassuringly before breaking and squealing with laughter. Tommy just slapped him on the arm before pouting and agreeing to watch the horror film.

The disc was inserted and Zee closed all of the blinds before scooting onto the lounge next to Saint, still keeping some distance between them because he didn’t know if he was feeling uncomfortable from this morning's revelation. But to his surprise, Saint inched a little closer and smiled kindly at him which warmed his heart and eased his anxieties. The movie began playing and the sound was up quite loud, they almost felt sorry for the neighbours who were probably under the impression that there was an exorcism or a murder happening right next door. A jump scare forced its way into the room, sending all of the boys springing to attention and out of their skin, but for Saint and Zee, they both just chuckled quietly to each other whilst watching the fear dance around the room.

Screams and squeals continued to bounce off the walls throughout the whole movie, popcorn was also flying around every time someone’s body would involuntarily jump. Saint had watched this movie over and over in the past, so nothing was unexpected for him. So with the lack of excitement and the poor sleep from last night he slowly started to doze off, body falling with small nods towards Zee, before completely leaning himself on to the shoulder next to him. A smile etched across Zee’s face as he felt the weight against him, he tilted to the side a little, letting Saint fall further down to his chest so he could reach an arm around him and get comfortable. Before long, both of them had dozed off, Saint had snaked an arm around the strong torso beneath him, and with his other hand; Zee entwined his own fingers to hold onto him better.

Both of them were woken with flashes of light, squinting and pulling their heads to the side to avoid direct contact between the lens of their eyes and the flash striking them. They eventually both flutter their eyes open to realise that they are currently the victim of their friends' phone cameras. “Did you pair enjoy spooning each other”, called Max whilst wiggling his brows, as he snaps another photo. “Alright boys, I think we have enough to blackmail them with later, I think we should stop now”, spoke Mark. They all sighed but did as they were told, both Saint and Zee were still mildly half asleep and they turned to each other, they both jumped back. Saint flying to the other end of the lounge and Zee slamming his back into the armrest, shrieking at the pain that rapidly shot down his back. “It’s not what it looks like!”, they both nervously said in unison and all of the boys just glanced at them with confusion.


	19. Chapter 19

"So, it doesn't look like you pair fell asleep and as a result of sitting next to each other, you accidentally spooned?", Tommy asked with a cocked brow. Both boys just lowered their shoulders and relaxed a little before Zee spoke up, "oh, actually, that's exactly what it looked like", a suspicious smile splattered across his face to which Saint nodded in agreement. "I'm hungry", fell out of Saint's mouth to which even shocked him, turns out his stomach and brain had complete control of his mouth because he didn't even stand a chance at stopping those words. Everyone started to rise up and head towards the door. "Where do you think you are all going? My place did not look like this when I woke up this morning...", he walked around the scattered pieces of popcorn and dishevelled blankets that were almost creating a fort in the loungeroom. "We will fix it up later, let's go down to the nearby café for lunch!", Poppy persistently insisted.

All of the boys had exited the apartment and made their way down to the café, funnily enough, Zee had seen the four walls of this café less than the one near Saint's place. Saint and Zee however had fallen behind so they both decided to tidy up just a little bit before heading down to the café, Zee sent a text to Poppy letting him know. As they are trudging around the loungeroom picking up traces of corn kernels and empty bottles of water; _at least they were trying to lessen the severity of the hangover with water_ wandered through the logical part of Saint's brain as he continued to clean. "Hey, can you help me fold this blanket?", Zee stood in the centre of the loungeroom with both corners of the blanket in each hand waiting for help. "Sure", left Saint's lips. As they are folding over the length of the blanket, it shrunk in size and they got closer and closer. The final fold was about to cross the finish line as they stood less than half a meter apart, they both leaned in and pushed their hands together. Zee opens his palms and wraps his hand around Saints and takes another step forward. "I think we should talk about last night and this morning. I meant it when I said I had feelings for you and I truly hope that I don't lose you because I can't keep my mouth shut, literally. Can you tell me what is going through your mind? Please", he pleaded, hoping only to receive something positive in return.

Just as Saint was about to open his mouth to speak, there was a knock on the door. A frustrated groan plummeted out of Zee's mouth before he pulled his hands off of Saints and stepped back to put the blanket down. There always seems to be some form of interruption or hesitation, it was frustrating and for Zee it almost came across like a sign, maybe he should just quit now he thought. But amidst his thinking and his movement, he was stopped before he had a chance to grasp the nature of why he was halted, and suddenly his lips were met with another. His face was now cupped and the soft sensation of last night flashed at the back of his eyelids as they automatically closed shut. _HOLY FUCKING LIPS OF AN ANGEL, HE IS KISSING ME, THIS IS NOT A FALSE ALARM! HIS LIPS ARE ACTUALLY ON MINE AND OF HIS OWN FREE WILL!_ Screamed in between his ears as the kiss continued, deepening ever so lightly. It was delicate and passionate, but their lips never separated and their tongues never met. Saint hissed a little though when the bruise on his lip from his earlier biting received some pressure, which led him to pull away and at the end; breathless they both were.

"That is what's on my mind", he threw his shoulders up and down as if it wasn't difficult to declare. "We should leave this for later, one because someone is knocking at your door and two because we are still being waited on down at the café", Saint said nonchalantly before walking towards the front door and chucking on a pair of shoes. He answered the door to find out that the person on the other side was lost and looking for the right address, unsure of the area he called for Zee to help with directions. Success never wavered when the pair worked together, and helping with directions for this stranger wasn't short of another instance of this. After the stranger went on their way, Saint started heading out the door but was pulled back by his arm and now anchored directly in front of Zee, their chests touching and now sharing the same oxygen. Without a single ounce of hesitation, Zee leaned next to Saint's ear and whispered "you can only blame yourself for what I am about to do", then quickly kisses him on the cheek and bolts out the door yelling "don't forget to lock it!", all Saint could do was blush and chuckle as he pulled the door closed behind him and slowly made his way to the café, not giving Zee the satisfaction of chasing after him.

\---

All seven of them were now leaning so far back in the chairs at the café with each and every one of them rubbing their stomach because they all stuffed their faces and if they even attempted to have another bite they may even start popping at the seam. The waitress came over to the table and her eyes smiled as she handed them the bill for lunch and walked away with a skip in her step.

The boys all chatted amongst themselves trying to figure out who was going to be the gentleman and cover the cost of the bill, and whilst doing so Saint leaned over and whispered to Zee, "this may not be the time or place, but this is all very new for me, still exciting beyond belief but could we maybe take it back a gear and take things slow. I'm still learning about my feelings for you, is that okay?", before pulling away and avoiding eye contact. In return his hand now lay beneath the others, reassuring him that together they would take things at the right pace and this warmed his heart more than ever.

After the food had finally settled, and Mark agreed to pay the bill it was settled that everyone was in need of their own bed to gain some sleep and fully recover from the intoxication that still niggled at most of them.

The pair were still together after lunch and decided to take a walk around the field that was home to many creatures, trees, and a beautiful stream. Much for old time's sake, a blast from the past, a little pinch of time. They took a seat on a worn-out park bench and looked out into the distance. The trees were swaying in the wind, each leaf brushing the next as it danced back and forth in the breeze. Small rings surfaced along the stream as fish came up to scavenge for food, the ducks waddled in a formation around the edge of the water before taking a seat in the shade. Right next to the bench laid a bed of flowers, all were still blooming minus one, a daisy that was now fully grown and flaunting its beauty. Saint lent down and snapped it near the root before lifting it to Zee's ear and tucking it behind, "masterpiece", he joyfully chirped to which warranted a small chuckled from the masterpiece himself.

As the day ticks on and the clouds swim across the ocean blue sky, the sun slowly starts to set and paint the field in deep shades of auburn, violet, and charcoal. "Hey, before the sun sets, we should take a picture down by the stream. Like last time when we visited the park near my place!", Saint suggested. "Alright, you lead the way", Zee responded whilst trailing behind.

"Okay, stand right there near the water's edge for me, and say cheese!", he started snapping photos of Zee who was crossing his arms and looking bored. "What's wrong Zee?", he asked whilst taking a step closer to try and see his features more clearly, since the sun was getting lower and the level of light was also decreasing. "I just don't think it's very fair, that's all", he responded to Saint. But confusion rang true as Saint gave a questioning look, "that last time we were in this position, I ended up in the water and you got to stay dry... I think we should change that!", and with a smirk and swift movement he tackled Saint and pulled them both into the water, it wasn't on the agenda to get himself wet but it was worth it to see the water trickle over someone other than just himself for once.

"ZEE!", he cried whilst holding his phone up in the air, trying not to get it wet. "Our phones are waterproof, now come here", were his last words before he once again went for Saints all glorious dry clothes and they both tumbled further into the water, laughing so loud that the nearby ducks were startled and waddled off into the other direction.

After around fifteen minutes, they both began to shiver and decided it was wise to head back to the apartment. "This would be a lot better if we were at my place, seeing as though the walk from the park to my apartment is shorter", Saint huffed in displeasure as he was lead back to the apartment, squeaking like a chew toy with every step. "Think of this as karma playing its roll. You may have to walk further this time, but I have been defeated by bodies of water twice, no _THREE_ times now. So you aren't allowed to complain", he poked his tongue out at Saint and continues the trek home.

Warmth welcomed them as they opened the apartment door and entered the room. It never occurred to Saint but Zee had his own apartment, pays his own rent and bills but always seems to have time to hang out, "do you have a job?", he blurted out before slapping his mouth at how disrespectful he felt. "Yeah, I take photo's for a living, you didn't know? In fact, I could offer you 50% off one of the photos I took of you if you want", he winked, clicked and wiggled his brows which escalated causing Saint to whack him on the shoulder. "No need to be a smartass. I guess Mr. Photographer was pretty accurate than", he laughed and decided to leave this conversation for later. 


	20. Chapter 20

Minutes turned into hours, and hours into days as the clock ticked loudly and life carried on. Saint has been less attentive to Zee over the past few days as he has dedicated most of his consciousness to studying for his upcoming test. Only brief moments of eagerness to graduate fluttered into his mind before he went back to deliberating the best way to memorise his notes before the anxiety-riddled day. Deep down Saint wanted nothing more than to give Zee the spotlight he so desperately plead for, but he is just short of the finish line and has no intention of losing sight of his future now.

Three and a bit years ago Saint took on the opportunity to complete a degree in economics, he was aware that his end goal potentially contradicted his current degree and maybe it would have been better suited to complete a business degree instead. But alas he feels as though he can merge his reality and his goal together; the journey, the dream, and the result would be all of the proof he needed to justify to himself that his decision wouldn’t fail him. Early on in his life, he pondered on what he wanted to do and the conclusion was that he wanted nothing more than to run a business built with his own two hands and brainpower. With this, he found it also practical to study economics as it gave him the ability to learn how to analyze economic data, issues, and trends which could lead to him becoming a successful entrepreneur, a brilliant one at that. At the end of the day, he truly just wanted to make his mother proud and he wanted to do everything in his power to look after her as thanks for giving him her whole support, care, and love throughout his childhood. He loved his mother more than anything in this world, she was his rock, his best friend and he would give her the universe, the galaxy, and the stars above if he knew that it would make her smile, even just a little.

It was getting late and Saint knew he needed to rest because he needed to be alert and ready for tomorrow’s events, he has worked so hard for this. He was finally closing all of his books and stacking them neatly on his desk when his phone rang. A smile grew faster than he could say the name that popped up on his screen. “Now, should I be happy to hear your voice or be mad at you for calling when you knew I was studying for tomorrow’s test?”, he calmly spoke through the phone. “I know, I am sorry. I just wanted to hear you say goodnight and I wanted to wish you good luck for tomorrow. Also, afterward, I was wondering if you would accompany me on a date?”, Zee’s tone was timid as he let the apprehension consume him as he asked the question; seeing as though this would be their first official date.

An inhaled breath spiralled through the speaker, tickling Zee’s ear before he got a quiet response, “yes”. Overjoyed, he pulled the phone from his ear and tilted his head back, eyes closed and smiling at the ceiling as his heart began playing a sweet tune that hummed through his whole body.

The call ended shortly after Zee thanked Saint and once again wished him luck with his test, Saint bidding him goodnight before lowering the phone from the side of his head. “This circus in my stomach is going to make it difficult to sleep tonight”, he sighed but smile before heading to bed to give his best attempt at resting.

\---

Morning peaked through his curtains and Saint’s eyes blinked open as he continued to lay and stare at the ceiling. However, within seconds his body involuntarily jumped out the bed in a frenzy. He was in such a state of shock he grabbed his pants and changed them, running a hand threw his hair, running to the bathroom and brushing his teeth. In amongst his stress, he realised that he was still wearing his pyjama shirt which was now covered in splatters of toothpaste as a result of his nerves shaking his hands. He bolted back to the bedroom and picked up his phone checking the time and running towards his shoes. “Wait”, he stopped dead in his tracks immediately. He smacked his forehead before dragging his fingers down the bridge of his nose and frowning, he had realised that it was earlier and his alarm just hadn’t rung yet. The bed was where he could still be laying as he didn't need to rise yet. He took the opportunity to have a shower and freshen up properly, get into something a little more comfortable, and do some extra study before he needed to leave the apartment. “Bring it on”, he repeated over and over again as he walked out of the apartment towards his future.

Once seated, the instructor read over some of the expectations for the exam and the rules that are to be applied. There was a time restriction of three hours to complete the questionnaire and the written exam, which gave Saint some room to relax a little, but not too much. The buzzer rang through the giant hall as the sound of scribbling jumped from desk to desk. Saint was alert, he could hear the tapping of the person a few rows ahead as they knocked their aggravated knee against the leg of the desk, the ticking of his wristwatch as seconds clicked by, even the whistle that escaped the instructor's nose every time he exhaled. Shaking the distraction away he diverted his attention to the multiple-choice questions in front of him. Without further hesitation, his pen began and he attempted to not scrawl all over the page as he bounces from question to question.  
Before he knew it, he was finished and proof-reading all of his answers to double-check that he was satisfied. Just before reaching the end of his checking the buzzer rang through, motioning students to lower their pens and a clap sang from the teacher's hands as he congratulated the students on their efforts, their success, and their hard work over the years. Presenting his finished exam to the front, he shook his instructor's hand and went to turn away but he was met with a tug back. “Congratulations Saint, I have admired your effort from the first class I taught with you. Your eagerness and motivation are what make our jobs as instructors worthwhile. I know you are only going to progress from here, and I just want to let you know that if you are ever in need of anything, please feel as though you are always welcome within my classroom”, he smiled and held Saint’s hand between his for a brief moment poor letting go and ushering him away.

Saint was now walking down the staircase that leads to the exit doors, relief now sending waves over him as he felt refreshed and ready to tackle any challenges he may face in the future. He was now walking towards the path when he recognised his mum’s car at the front. He hastily walked over to the car and tapped on the passenger window. With a quick suction, the window slowly began to descend and on the other side sat his mother in the driver seat and Zee in the passenger seat. The relief and confidence he had just moments ago began to shift as he became surprisingly perplexed. “Hey mum, hey Zee… What are you pair doing here, together?”, he asked so bewilderedly. “How about I tell you on the road, would you like a ride home?” his mum smiled, a smile that said “ _Oh boy, this is going to be fun_ ”. “Uh, sure”, he replied whilst jumping into the back of the car, accidentally letting the door stay open before being reminded that the car can only move once all of the doors are closed. On the way they went, heading back to Saint’s apartment, all he could think about was why his mum and the man that has taken up most of his attention over the last few months were now in the car together. “Does anyone wish to tell me how you pair ended up in the same car?”, he finally spat into the tension-filled air.

“Well…”, replied. 


	21. Chapter 21

Zee was still feeling rather embarrassed over the fact that he was caught in an attempt to break into Saint’s apartment. Saint’s mum found it very cute that there was still a shade of red painting his cheeks and decided to explain today’s earlier events. 

“I thought I would pop over to your place and set up to have a nice meal to say congratulations on completing your final test”, she began, “I pulled up around the corner rather than the front because there was already a car parked at the front entrance. I pulled up and walked around the bend when to my shock I noticed a stranger trying to gain entrance to your apartment through the front window”, both of Saint’s eye widen as he shook and pulled his head back, disbelief taped across his face. She continued the story as she drove, explaining that she had her phone ready to call the police for an intrusion. But as she got closer she could see the disappointment fall on this stranger's face as he looked desperate, the look of defeat washed across him like a man on death row. Moments later he spoke “Saint, why is it so hard to do something nice for you? Ugh!” and that was when she had realised that this must be a friend of his, so she walked on over and startled the poor boy, she glanced over at Zee and began apologising, “I’m sorry about any injuries you incurred when you slipped and fell”, she half-smiled with gritted teeth, the look of guilt fell on her face harder than a tonne of bricks. The story continued on about how they introduced themselves and realised that they both had the same intention of setting up the apartment and having a congratulations lunch together. 

Before they all knew it, Zee’s face has settled back to a shade of pale with only a slight pink sprinkling his cheeks and they were parked around the corner from Saint’s apartment. They all exited the car, Saint and Zee both jumped out of the passenger side and as Zee went to walk ahead, Saint briefly brushed his fingers across his knuckles and a pounding sound echoed from his chest as he felt warm and nervous all over again. “Are you pair coming, or should we have lunch out on the street?”, she joked as she trotted onward to the apartment. 

As Saint was unlocking the door, he tilted his head and looked at Zee, “tomorrow I will go out and get a spare key cut for you, that way you won’t scare anyone else by looking like an intruder”, he chuckled. The rolling of his eyes was dramatic and comical, he made sure to let Saint see his little theatrical display which only left both of them laughing. “Did I miss something?”, squeaks from his mum who is standing behind them, still waiting to gain entrance into the apartment. They both lightly shook their heads and smiled, finally opening the door and gracefully entering the apartment.

His mum scurried to the kitchen and began pulling pots, pans, plates, and cutlery out; utensils were flying across the kitchen. The boys just stood dead smack in the centre of the dining area and watched in awe as she prepared a lunch large enough to feed a village _and_ their neighbouring towns. 

Zee rushed over to help carry the foot and all of the cutlery, setting the table before anyone sat down. Once the table looked presentable he quickly pulled out a chair, “thank you, Ms. Nuk. I really appreciate the length you went to today and I am grateful to be a part of it!”, he bowed his head down to her. “Oh no dear, call me mum. And you are very welcome, thank you for joining us and looking after my son for me”, she placed a hand on his cheek adoringly before taking her seat. After a short moment of praise and thanks, the food went from a vision of beauty to a monsters den as it became ravaged through by the gorilla hands from the boys. Saint especially made the piece of art in front of him plunge down from the heights of “Mona Lisa” to the macaroni and cheese artwork that he glued together in his infant years, “slow down son!” Mae cried as she watched him trample through the food she cooked, amazed at how much he could eat, “you alone eat like a pack of wild dogs, a whole pack Saint!”, she spoke whilst trying to fend him off as she picked at food to add to her own plate. This went on for a while, the war of who could eat the most ended in a draw as both Zee and Saint slouched into their chairs rubbing their bloated stomachs, staring each other down. 

Mae started tidying up the dishes at the table and walked them into the kitchen to wash up. Zee opposed the action but with a strong insistence from Mae, he sat back down in his chair with a pout. The pout quickly moulded into a smirk before he shot a look of mischief towards Saint, “so, do you have any embarrassing stories about your son that you would like to share? I mean, I have made a fool of myself far too many times in front of him, I think I deserve some kind of redemption!”, he begged like a puppy waiting for a treat. Whilst still going back and forth from the table to the kitchen bench she hummed in thought, “there was this one time when he was eleven when…”, “MUM! I beg you, do not destroy my reputation at the expense of amusing him, it’s not my fault that he is clumsy”, he pleaded as he gripped the fabric of his mother’s shirt that clung to her arm. “At the request of my dear son, I will have to refrain from ‘ _destroying his reputation_ ’, I hope you can understand”, she turns her body and bends down to whisper “don’t worry, I’ll fill you in later when he isn’t around”, a giggle escaping her tiny frame as she sways her hips side to side as she walks back to the kitchen. 

After lunch was no longer on display, they all sat in the loungeroom and switched the screen on to watch a movie together. Before the movie started Saint jumped up and complained that his stomach alarm was going off, and lunch was ready to leave; he darted straight for the bathroom, leaving Zee and Mae to chat amongst themselves. 

“So Zee, I don’t think I have had the pleasure in knowing how you and my son met”, she offered a very intrigued look. Instantly his cheeks lit up like a traffic light, demanding a stop, and so he remembered the first time he had ever seen Saint, his thoughts delved into the past as he remembers seeing an angel for the first time and how an instant reaction occurred to which his camera flashed into that direction. He remembers every single fragment of time that clung to his heart, he could remember the smell of the air that day, the way the trees played with the light as it danced through the branches. He had no clue how to put that into words without startling Saint’s mum. 

“Actually, I happened to meet Saint whilst I was working. I was out looking for inspiration that day with my trusty camera companion when I stumbled upon the entrance to the park out the back. He was feeding a stray dog and some ducks, I felt almost obligated to take photos of this, so I did. I’d be happy to show you sometime if you like, your son looks very handsome in them”, he said a little uneasy by the end of the sentence. Taking a quick gulp and a short breath, he continued on, “eventually one day we by chance met each other and because your son is so kind and friendly, we became friends. That’s kind of the story of how we met”, he finished with a smile. 

“That is such a touching story, what a wonderful coincidence that you just happened to stumble upon each other one day!”, she said gleefully whilst beaming a wide smile. Saint strolled back into the lounge room with an award-winning smile plastered across his face, looking relieved also as he sat back down between the pair. “I think I heard a conversation about how Zee and I met, did he tell you about the time he let me borrow his camera and when I tried to take his picture he fell into the pond?”, he began cackling as he held his stomach in pleasure. Zee just facepalmed and shook his head. They continued laughing and chatting for the rest of the afternoon, Mae was rather intrigued in Zee’s ambitions and his career. “I would like to know more about this photography stuff, how did you get into that?”, she asked quizzically. 


	22. Chapter 22

“Actually, I’d like to think that photography found me.”

Mae was intently listening to Zee tell his tale on how a dream he didn’t know he had, became his reality when he was eleven years old. He was playing in the back garden, the large leaves hung from branches and sheltered the majority of the backyard, shading his young pale skin from becoming crisp. The breeze politely whistled through the trees as it fell upon deaf ears because a lack of attention is something that a young child as he would excel at. He was running amuck when he tripped backward over one of his dad’s pot plants, fear struck every single one of the short hairs that raised over his whole body, panic set very quickly and he had to find a way to resolve the issue before his dad tried to make a mountain out of a molehill. He scurried to the wooden shed that was being held together with frequent upkeep and attention, a few loose screws and he is pretty sure an old boat was torn apart to build this thing. “Son, your grandfather's blood sweat and tears went into building this shed so he could escape your grandmother. So, we need to keep it in check so I have an escape from your mother and then for you to carry on the family tradition one day”, replayed in his mind when thinking back to that day; a small chuckle entered the back of his throat.

When he went into the shed in search of any kind of adhesive, rummaging around trying to find anything that he could use to put the pot plant back together, he found an old camera shoved to the back of one of the draws. Dusty and old, but still lively and had remaining film sitting idly inside. The interest peaked as he removed it and blew away some of the dust, causing an uproar of particles that entered his nose causing a thunderous crack of a sneeze. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand before running outside and down the hill to the small riverbank that ran next to his house. Along the riverside was a small patch of flowers, colours brighter than the rainbow on a warm, wet spring afternoon, the scent of beauty tickled his nose as he inched closer.  
“I took the camera and held it right up next to the flower, I had no idea what I was doing. I found out later on when looking at the film that all you could see was a blurry patch of petals”, he laughed at his young inexperience. “But the best part was when I returned from taking as many photos as I could, my dad was waiting for me with a pot plant in hand and a look that haunted me for months to come”, he continued to share. After returning he was scolded for breaking objects, not confessing and also not receiving permission to take the camera.  
“That camera was your grandmothers, she loved it like it was her child. She believed that taking photo’s taught people how to look through someone else’s eyes. She would always say to me that photos teach us the look again, to look a little harder, to stare a little longer”, his dad continued and the guilt grew taller than he could ever stand. The punishment received was far from harsh, he had to wash the dogs every week for 4 weeks, “and as an eleven-year-old, this felt like a life sentence!”, Zee shook his head at his adolescent self.

“A little while later when dad was taking the film out, he decided to take a look. To his surprise, there were just a few photos that were well executed. He was impressed and decided that he would buy me a camera of my own for my birthday that year”, he started. This created the dream he is now living, Mae just sat there with delight laying on her shoulder, blissful. “Dad saw my potential that day, and he has told me almost every day how proud he is of me, and I will never forget”, he said with a warm smile as he held his hand to his chest, close to his heart. After a few years of continuous practice, he was getting better, more consistent, he was able to express himself and he never found a shortage of inspiration. “Truthfully, I think photography brings people together, we can connect with the most unlikely people over one simple picture. I mean, if not for my extreme desire to capture the unknown I may never have met your son; and a waste it would be if I never had the chance to have him in my life”, he confessed, truthful he wanted to be from here on out. He believed that photographs were a universal language, understood by all, moulded into whatever your heart desires and there are no limitations.

“Funnily enough, as I got older I began finding it difficult to capture images like I used to. I thought I was losing my ability to take pictures. Turns out I was losing the ability to see clearly”, he laughed and it bounced around the room like a child full of sugar. “I had to get my first pair of glasses that year and ever since then, I always carry a pair in my bag along with my contacts”, he said whilst pointing to his eye.  
“Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me that after all this time, you are blind?”, Saint intruded on the conversation, amusement and shock fought each other, wrestling to gain the final expression, in the end, amusement came out on top as he playfully mocked Zee’s poor eyesight. Saint’s mum tapped him on the chin and glared at him before turning back to regain Zee’s attention.

The night grew darker and colder as the tales of his child to adult life was narrated like a storybook, memories were pages of his life, with no end in sight. Storytime was nearly at a close when he remembered that he had two upcoming events that he would be photographing. “I have a wedding in two weeks that I am catering for, I have to work from start to finish. The ceremony and the reception, it is going to be a huge night”, Zee let out a big sigh before continuing, “oh, and next week I have a huge party that I have been requested for. It’s at some house by the lake, I believe it’s for a 21st birthday. Would you like to accompany me, Saint?”. A quick nod and smile came from Saint as he agreed to be his plus one.

The night was coming to a close as Mae stood up and began saying her goodbye’s, Saint stood with her and left for the front door, grabbing her jacket for her and holding the door. Before leaving to meet Saint at the front door she stood in front of Zee. A warm motherly hug held him for a brief moment before she held his hands together, “thank you, Zee, for sharing with me tonight. But mostly I want to thank you for being by my son’s side, no matter what. I am pleased to know that he had the chance to meet you”, she offered one last smile before giving him a loving kiss on the cheek, leaving a speck of lipstick. She waved him goodbye before heading to the door to meet Saint.  
“Goodnight son, I will chat with you later, you should bring him around to the house to meet the rest of the family sometime”, they hugged and said their final goodnights.

“I think I am going to head home too, it’s getting late and I don’t want to drive home too tired”, Zee spoke as he also met with Saint at the front door. They both just lived in the moment for a few seconds longer than intended. He raised his hand to Saint’s cheek and caressed his face for a moment before turning and leaving, a final wave escaped his hand as he was getting into his car.

Before leaving, his phone lit up and a message from Saint appeared. “I’m still waiting for that date, don’t you forget”, to which he simply replied with “never” before turning his car on and driving home. A smile crept up on Saint’s lips before he closed the door and headed for bed.


	23. Chapter 23

The crack of dawn crept into the living room, ripping through all of the shadows that painted the room dark until reaching Saint’s toes that ever so vaguely peered out from under the comforter. The heat rose which caused him to toss in his sleep, escaping his body was a groan, a roar so chaotic it snatched him from his slumber bringing him to a rude awakening. Insulted by his body's eagerness to wake him at such an ungodly hour, he pulled the comforter up over his head attempting to meet his dreams once again. Irritation curdled, eagerly growing more dangerous which only had him expelling heartier breath; the air between him and his comforter became uncomfortably warm and he had to rip it off him to inhale a cooler pocket of oxygen. “Have it your way”, he grumbled as he slid his body down a little before pulling his weight up off the bed and slumping over, feet hitting the floor. 

After declaring war on the morning glow that seeped and flooded the apartment, he huffed and trudged to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and welcomed his reflection with a stale grimace. Sweeping a hand through the supple strands of hair that charged in all directions, he lightly gripped the faucet and turned on the water waiting for it to grow in temperate before swooping his hands underneath. Lowering his head, he doused his face with the warmth and rubbed his eyes, this blurring them slightly before he blinked away the droplets, now erasing any inability to see clearly. He remained still as he looked into the sink below him, watching each splatter of water slowly dissipate as the minutes ticked by. From a distance, his ears pricked up like a cat as he hears the short burst of noise coming from his phone back in his bedroom. 

He walked into the room and squinted as the sun bounced off the iris of his eye, shooting a blinding light that travelled and penetrated as far back as his soul beneath. A growl once again walked the room alongside Saint as he squinted and held his hand to shield his face from the sun whilst walking to take his phone. The first act of irritation was to check the time, _7:04 AM_ , a huff, and then his eyes trailed down to the notification below, taken aback it was a message from Zee. “It’s a little early for the prince to arise, whatever happened to beauty sleep, _hmph_ ”, but alas he ended it with a small smile and opened the message. 

“I’m giving you until 11:00 AM sharp to be out of bed, freshened up, and dressed in something nice. I’ll be at your door on time, we have a date”, the text message read. The small smile that was originally sitting on his face had now been replaced with a grin that was so large it would put towers to shame. He looked back down once more at the time and realised he had around 4 hours before needing to be ready, “no doubt he expects me to still be sleeping... Well, I would be but the sun ambushed me this morning”, he glared out the window. He walked back into the bathroom and went through his normal morning ritual, brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, “looking cute”, he winked and clicked his tongue at his reflection. Rummaging through his clothes, he grabbed his most comfortable and casual outfit before letting it cover his bare body. 

He looked down at the time for a third time just today and barely anytime had passed, but this wasn’t a bad thing. He grabbed his jacket, keys, wallet, and headed for the front door and left his apartment. A stroll down the street landed him in front of a hardware store, the doors were just being unlocked to the public when he arrived. The staff member who was at the entrance held a wary look towards Saint as he stood there, hands in his pockets and smiling dumbly. 

“Can I help you?”, the young man asked hesitantly. Saint rummaged around in his pockets for a moment, looking at his pocket and not noticing the staff member taking a step back looking worried, “here it is!”, he exclaimed as he pulled out his house key, “I was hoping to make a copy of my house key”, he stated. A tidal wave of relief washed over the staff member as he released that Saint was genuinely a customer and not some kind of threat, “of course, come through and I can assist you with that”, he held his arm out in the direction of the desk. 

After getting the spare key to his apartment cut, he headed back home and still had a couple of hours until Zee arrived. With his spare time he took a brief moment to find a more suitable outfit, “actually, I don’t even know where we are going, how will I know what to wear”, he thought, confused and frustrated. He wasn’t up for beating around the bush and decided to send a message to Zee asking where they were going, Zee responded moments later. Now knowing what the day was going to be like, he picked an outfit that he knew would be casual yet still wow Zee. Hair done, dressed to impress and still waiting for hours to click over. An epiphany occurred and he ran to the kitchen bench and held up the spare key that he had just purchased, gripping it tight he went down to his bedroom and searched through his bedside table. Inside was a scatter of odd, unintentionally placed items; a dust bunny, some paper clips, a pen lid that had a few teeth marks, he winced at the sight. But also fortuitously his hands landed upon a ball of yarn, knowledge of why he held such an item escaped him, so he took it out and cut a length of thread before putting the yarn back into his lost and found draw. 

He took the spare key in his hand and found an old gift bag from the shelf in his bedroom, attached was a tag that had yet to be destroyed by handwriting. He steadily detached it from the bag and placed it on the bench, he scoured through the tray of pens until he found one with ink. In his best handwriting, he wrote on the tag. 

_Dear you,_

_Inside of a black hole time stops altogether. Whether or not this theory will ever be proved, I’m moved to believe that this would be the perfect place to love someone._

_Unfortunately, I don’t own a black hole, but I do own an apartment and I promised you a key._

_From, me._

He threaded the yarn through the keyhole and the tag before typing it in a bow and placing it in an envelope he found under a pile of books on the kitchen table. By the time he had sealed the envelope and placed it into his back pocket it was nearly time for him to receive a knock on his door. Eagerly waiting for Zee to arrive he put his shoes on and grabbed his things before heading to the front door, he figured it would be easier to just wait out the front for Zee to arrive, it was 10:48 AM, he wouldn’t have to wait long. He walked towards the door, a small skip in his step, and twisted the handle. His eyes were closed as he took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh summer breeze that was unexpectedly hitched when he was knocked back by what felt like a brick wall. 

Eyes darting open, in front of him stood Zee looking embarrassed and flustered. “How long have you been standing here?” Saint asked him. A chuckled vibrated through his tightly closed lips before he answered, “well, I was at home and couldn’t sit still from the anticipation. So I decided to come early, I have been standing here for five minutes debating whether to knock or just wait. But you answered my question for me”, the shade of red rose from the lower accent of his cheeks to the top. Saint just shook his head and wrapped his arm around Zee’s elbow before spinning them around and taking a step down from his front door. “Let’s go on this picnic shall we”, he says whilst walking them back to Zee’s car, smiling brightly and heart pounding. They entered the car and Zee turned the key, hitching it to a rumbling start, one last glance at Saint fiddling with the hem of his shirt before he moved his gaze back up to the street in front of him. “Buckle up”, fell from his lips as he slowly accelerated and drove ahead to the park that he recently found whilst taking photos. The park symbolised their first meeting, and this park was beyond breathtaking, secluded, and just right for their first date. “Are you ready?”, he asked and with a swift turn of the head, Saint looked at him affectionally and smiled with a nod. 


	24. Chapter 24

The birds that were perched just outside of the window, sang sweet melodies that had floated into Zee’s bedroom and woken him at 6:30 AM on this particularly eerie morning. The sun had yet to paint the town golden, and the shadows still swam over the town, drowning it in darkness as the street lights interrogated each alleyway. A yawn leaped from his throat, adventuring to the tip of his tongue before it fell and melted into the air around him. He smiled knowing that last night before he laid to rest he put a well thought out plan in place to give Saint the best first date of his entire life. He knew that at the time it was late but he couldn’t do this alone, so he scrolled through his contacts and contemplated who was more likely to be surfing the high of the night instead of laying to rest like most. After a few moments, he happened upon Mark and with a click of a few buttons, he was now sending a text. Eagerness was outweighing his patience as he started typing another text, back to back trying to gain his attention but before he was able to hit send on the second message he received a response. Into the night, back and forth he plotted and schemed with Mark on how the plan was to progress tomorrow. 

He was knocked back to the present when he heard a light, playful knock at the front door, stretching whilst sliding out of bed, he headed out to answer the tune of repetitive knocks. “Ah, good morning, did I wake you?”, Mark asked gleefully to which warranted a sleepily shake of the head from Zee. “Come in, I have a list for you before you go out”, he walked over to the kitchen bench with Mark trailing behind him. “So, do you think you can get all of this done and be back here by the time I finish up with the picnic?”, he asked, worried that his plan may not go as smoothly as he was praying for. A suave glide of the hand, slicked up the side of his hair before he turned to Zee and said, “do you know who you are talking to? Of course, I will have it done”, he clicked his tongue and grabbed the list, tracing a finger down the page whilst simultaneously nodding. 

The tint of the sun displayed carelessly upon the roof of his car as he ventured out, watching the morning dew melt and spill down his windshield. He hopped into the car and headed for the local grocer to grab the requirements for the perfect date. He had found an old basket and picnic rug in a box packed at the top of his wardrobe the night before, at the time it occurred to him that this was his grandmother’s old box of memories. He smiled at the thought that once upon a time, very long ago his grandparents were basking in the sun under the shade of a tree, enjoying the sweet treats she undoubtedly packed for a date of their own. “I’ll make you proud grandma, I promise”, he whispered to the box before setting it down to unpack what he needed.   
The sun grew warmer as he headed back to his car with bags full of unmade treats, one bag even between his teeth as he juggled the others and tried to unlock his car, unsuccessfully though. After three poor attempts, placing the bags down to unlock the car seemed like the more reasonable choice. The sun was beating hard and after getting everything into the car, the droplets of sweat trickled down behind his ears and under his hairline before he wiped it away and jumped back into the car to head home and prepare the feast. 

Upon arriving at his front door, he received a text from Mark letting him know that so far everything is going smoothly, just has 2 more things left to do before he can return. He smiled for only seconds before he snapped back to getting inside. Splayed out, covering every inch of the kitchen bench was unprepared snacks for their picnic. He grabbed some strawberries and toothpicks, dipping chocolate and the thought of feeding sweets to Saint left him feeling warm in the chest. Not a day went by where his feelings for Saint didn’t expand his heart, he still adored him with every movement, every word that ever fell from his lips, he was his home. Continuing, he made some sandwiches, cutting them into tiny triangles, adding some other biscuits, and so forth. Then lastly, he started cutting up one of Saint’s favourite snacks, watermelon. He intricately sliced each piece into a heart shape, “overboard maybe?”, he questioned for a really short time before answering himself proudly, “Nah!”. After finally having all of the snacks and treats prepared, he carefully placed them into containers before lowering them into the basket, then covering them with the picnic blanket. He knew it was a little early but he couldn’t contain the commotion that was exploding in his chest, the circus had come to town in his stomach, the roar of the lion echoed through the walls leaving a small growl quivering beneath his shirt. He placed the picnic basket, a small tube of sunscreen, and his heart on the back seat of his car before jumping in and heading to Saint’s place. 

He had just pulled up out the front and checked the time, _10:43 AM_ , his fingers twitched on his knee as he was failing to remain still and calm. Unable to sit still for any longer, he jumped out the car and stood on the pathway, staring at the apartment in front of him he inhaled a large gust of air, holding it in whilst closing his eyes. Finally releasing the oxygen that was taking up the better half of his lungs, he stepped forward and made his way to the front door. When he stepped up, he looked at the clock and noticed it was still only 10:48 AM and he told Saint he would be there at 11:00 AM sharp, shaking his head and wanting to keep his promise, he began lowering his hand that was so eager to knock. As he did so, the front door swung open and Saint had shot straight at him, taking them both by surprise. Saint asked him why he was so early, and he had to explain himself but before he knew it, Saint was pulling him along and singing about how excited he was for their date, almost jumping up and down at the passenger side of his car waiting to be able to enter it. With a click of a button, the snap of the lock reverted to unlocked and Zee nodded as if to say that he was now able to get into the car. “Are you ready?”, he asked and with a swift turn of the head, Saint looked at him affectionally and smiled with a nod, off they went down the street staring right at them. 

“Are we there yet?”, Saint whined for the third time in twenty-five minutes, all Zee had to do was turn his head and raise a brow at him, in response he received, “okay! I’ll quit asking, I’m just excited”. “Well, you don’t have to wait any longer, we are here”, Zee said with a smile planted on his face, pulling the car up next to a rich green willow tree. “Let me just get the stuff from the backseat and we can head over”, he said from the backseat of the car, however it fell onto deaf ears as Saint gawked in awe as he slowly turned on the spot, taking in every inch of his surroundings. He had never witnessed anything so elegant, exquisite, and graceful in his entire life, nothing he had ever dreamed of could compare to the sight that danced around him, right here, right now at this moment. He returned to a state of consciousness when he felt a hand wrap around the small of his back and his waist, “are you coming?”, Zee softly spoke into his ear as he pulled him forward. Separating the hanging leaves from the willow tree, they delicately took steps closer to a clearing. 

The ground was coated in fallen petals of pink leaves, the romantic setting was something of a movie scene. The sky painted in shades of blue, accents of white clouds hung above, floating within the light breeze that whistled between branches which only led to the ground swimming in more leaves. “I’m going to go set up the blanket, why don’t you have a look around for a moment”, he said to Saint before trotting off and finding a spot near some trees. Saint carefully placed one foot in front of the other as he inhaled the crisp air that swallowed him, engulfing him in its grip. Almost like it was pulling him in, wanting him to delve further into the beauty that captured him. Across the park birds were throwing themselves around in a puddle, letting water droplets coat their feathers before they spiralled and shook the pellets off, singing in tunes of blissful chirps. Grooming one another with their beaks and curling up together after flying above to a hanging branch. Saint’s heart was becoming awfully large as he felt something he had never truly felt before. He has always had a wonderful life, loving family and friends but this felt different, almost like a dream except he is living it and this is his reality. He never wants to let go of this feeling, he quietly whispers to the landscape around him, “thank you”, as a tear starts to well up in the corner of his eye when he hears Zee calling him back. A quick wipe and a half-smile sat upon his face one last time before he turned and headed back to the man who made all of this happen. 

Zee chuckled rather loudly as he watches Saint dive stomach first into the watermelon that was just placed in front of him. “You cut them into hearts?”, he almost squeals, but it was muffled as he kept placing more and more pieces into his mouth. More food continued to come out of the picnic basket, and Zee was pretty sure that if Saint opened his eyes any wider, they may just fall from the sockets. “Close your eyes for me, I have one more treat in this basket”, he said to Saint, who complied, squeezing his eyes shut almost immediately. Once he was sure that he wasn’t being peaked upon, by pulling a few faces, he grabbed out the strawberries and dipping chocolate. “Okay, keep your eye’s closed and open up”, he spoke in a quiet, slightly sultry tone to which made Saint shake his head slightly. He was going to dip the strawberry into the delectable chocolate and place it in the mouth of the hungry, but instead, he dipped his finger and dotted a spot on the tip of Saint’s nose, letting out a belly laugh that shocked the now chocolate-coated man in front of him. “I can’t believe you just put, put”, he looked around trying to figure out what he had on his nose before he decided to just stick his tongue out and just catch the tip, “chocolate on my nose!”, he lunged forward at Zee and wiped his nose across his cheek, “payback”, he said with a smirk. 

The sun grew weary as it slowly started to set, pouring rays of rich gold tones throughout the park. The glow tinted Saint’s cheeks and shot a glimmer into his eye which Zee found beautiful. He reached up and caressed his cheeks, “thank you Saint”, he continued to rub his thumb across the surface of the soft skin beneath. As a response, he nuzzled down into the palm of Zee’s hand and closed his eyes in delight, a rise in temperature grew through his body giving his cheeks a pinkish glow. He was interrupted by a buzz in his pocket, he reached down to look at his phone and it was Mark letting him know that everything was set and ready to go. His mouth grew into a toothy smile as he sat his tongue on the tip of his teeth, the cool air rushed past drying it out a little, he looked over to Saint and took his hand. “I have one more surprise for you”, he said whilst bringing the hand to his lips and leaving a small, gentle peck, “but we have to go back to my place, is that okay?”, he asked. Saint offered a smile, “only if you accept my gift first”, he put his free hand in his back pocket and pulled out the envelope he had prepared earlier. He handed it to Zee with a flicker of nerves pricking his heartstrings.   
The envelope was carefully opened and he started reaching inside, his fingers curled around an unfamiliar object as he held it and removed his hand. He placed the envelope down and brought his hand closer before releasing his grip, in his palm sat the note and key that Saint had put together. His eyes fell upon the note, and trailed across and down, mesmerised by each word written in handwriting so delicate that it had to come from Saint’s hand. He clasped his hand shut one more time and leaned over holding Saint between his arms and chest, “I couldn’t have asked for a better gift, thank you”, the hug continued, he didn’t want to let go, but alas Saint broke the moment with his childlike behaviour, “okay, but what about my surprise”, he chuckled. Eventually, as the evening grew darker, they packed everything back up and headed to the car so Saint could finally get his surprise. 

As they drove, the lights began lighting up the street each one flashing on as the car continued on route. Zee looked over and vaguely got a glimpse of the smile that played on Saint’s lips through the reflection in the window from the lights hitting his face as they travelled below them. “So, now that I have a key to your apartment, does this mean I can come over any time I want?”, he asked with a mischievous huff but Saint just continued to smile out the window, only responding with a silent nod of his head.   
Finally pulling up to the parking space just next to his apartment, the night put on a show above them. The stars and moon danced through the sky, lighting up the town below, shadows sat silently under the moons rays and the howls of the town's critters plummeted down each alleyway, scaring mice back into their tiny hidden homes. Saint was already walking up to the front door before Zee could exit the car. “Wait!”, he softly yelled at Saint, explaining that he can’t go in yet. Saint buzzed, tapping at his thigh as he impatiently waited for Zee to get to where he was standing, “I need you to close your eyes for me. I will lead you into the apartment”, he began, “I’m serious Sup, don’t you open your eyes!”, he continued as he unlocked the door and ushered Saint through, holding the small of his back so he wouldn’t trip and walk into anything. 

The door shut behind him and he stood there, not knowing where Zee was, but he started to hear pattering across the floor coming towards him. He tilted his head trying to hear the sound a little clearer, a small bell rang and the padding of rapid steps grew louder and closer. Before he had a chance to react, he was hit in the shins by an unknown object and before he could open his eyes he could hear panting. A shock intake of air and his eyes instantly fell to his feet and sitting there obediently was Happy, he automatically dropped and starting petting his head and then moving to his tummy as Happy rolled onto his back and wiggled his body side to side. “But how?”, he asked confused, as he was rubbing his tummy the tag along his collar caught his eye. The front of the collar read “ _Happy_ ”, he turned it over and on the back, the engraving hitched his breathe, “ _the best part of my day_ ”, he thought to himself, _he remembers_. He jumped up looking around the room for Zee, but to his dismay, he was nowhere in sight. “Zee!”, he shouted through the apartment whilst still entertaining Happy who is sulking at his feet.   
Eventually, moments later Zee wandered back out only to be tackled to the ground. He was now being attacked by Saint’s lips all over his face, not leaving an inch bare, he left kisses from the top to bottom on his face, leaving the last one for a giant smooch on the lips. “How did you do all of this?”, he asked excitedly but Zee was still trying to regain his composure and tone down the blush that had made its way to his cheeks. He explained that with the help of Mark, he had Happy checked out by the Vet and made sure he didn’t have an owner and once he had the all-clear, he decided to adopt him as his own. “He lives here permanently now, and he will never go hungry again. But…”, he started, “but what?”, Saint asked with concern. “But Happy needs two parents, would you do the honour of being his other parent Saint?”, he asked whilst looking at the floor. Another tackled and they were both on the floor again as Saint yelled over and over again, “of course!”. 

After hours of playing with their new fur child, they both began yawning, one after the other. “Would you like to stay tonight?”, Zee offered and to his joy Saint accepted gleefully. Zee ushered Happy and Saint into the bedroom to get ready for bed and he headed for the bathroom to get freshened up before sleeping. He melted under the warm shower he needed before jumping out and getting cosy. When he entered his bedroom his face dropped and he rolled his eyes, in front of him on one side laid Saint, sprawled out and the other taken up by Happy. When he walked over to move Happy, a growl escaped him and Zee quickly pulled his hand away, “okay, okay!”, he whispers whilst raising his hands in defeat, “I’ll take the lounge then”, he said before walking to the wardrobe to grab the extra blanket and pillow. One last look at the pair asleep in _his_ bed and he sulked and trudged to the loungeroom, setting up his bed on the lounge. Once tucked in, he stared at the ceiling and thought about how today’s adventure had been his favourite one yet, and before he knew it, he had delved into the world of sleep and the night drifted on beside him.


	25. Chapter 25

The cool air crept up and crawled under the blanket, sending quivers down Zee's body, his teeth chattering uncontrollably and unconsciously. The chill tiptoed up each leg, silent in the night as it consumed him. In the other room, snug and huddled between a thick comforter, a puppy, and a pillow that smelt of Zee. Rolling his face further into the crook of the pillow, dreams that dominated his nightly hibernation kept him locked up in his fantasy. Pulled from the dream, he wakes up to Happy's foot colliding with his lower abdomen, just lifting his upper body a little he notices the bed is lacking a body, so he rubs his eyes and squints a little before propping himself up in bed. He tumbled out of bed less than elegantly and made his way through the apartment looking for the owner. First, he pops his head into the bathroom to see nothing but darkness, a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror as the hallway light hits the side of his face gave him a little scare, "we won't let anyone know about this, as far as anyone knows, I'm fearless", he whispers to his reflection before continuing down the carpeted corridor. Entering the dimly lit lounge room he hears the whistle of a snore coming from the lounge and he tiptoed over to the culprit. With a sweet smile, he finds Zee curled up on the lounge, shivering and chattering away and looking uncomfortably cold.  
A clear indication of a bright idea crawled into the ear of the angel and he quickly scurried back into the bedroom. "Sorry Happy, but I'm going to need those", he says whilst patting him and reaches for the comforter and his pillow.

The throwing of half of the comforter sends a wave of air over Zee once more, emitting a displeased grunt as he curls up a little more. The other half of the comforter fell to the floor, hanging over the giant rug that covered a large portion of the loungeroom, Saint patted it a little to make sure it was comfortable enough to lay upon, satisfied enough he lent over Zee and tucked the comforter behind his back to make sure he would stay warm and looked down at his with pure idolisation and admiration. He bit his lip for a moment before leaning over the side of his face and whispering in his ear, "in the future, I hope I get the chance to make my dreams a reality and have you by my side as more than what we are now", he didn't want to claim ownership of Zee by calling him ' _mine_ ' and with a subtle movement he moved further down and pressed the softest of kisses to his cheek before removing his body from his side to the floor beneath him. He curled up under the comforter and faced towards Zee, shuffling around until his head was comfortably resting on the pillow. Looking up at him one more time before closing his eyes ones again, he slips his hand up and rests it on Zee's forearm, holding tight, daring never to let go and without any notice, he left reality and fell upon dreams once more.

The morning sun was peeking out from the clouds, casting out its iridescent rays across the city below as small showers of raindrops fell from the pockets of ice and water above, slowly reducing in size as they fall. Zee rose with a yawn, silently shouting at the space around him before letting hit tongue graze the roof of his mouth a few times, tasting the morning air. He felt a warm grasp around his arm as he looked down to see Saint peacefully sleeping on the floor next to him, his heart felt heavy, it wasn't a bad feeling it was just new and foreign to him. He grabbed his hand and brought it to his lips before kissing it and holding it between his own, entwining their fingers together, locking it tight not wanting to part. Removing the hand he held over the top, trailing his fingers down Saint's arm, he slowly rubs his finger across his cheek, warmth growing quickly as his cheeks became like a rainbow, new shades of pink painted each spare cell on his face. "Good morning", he respectfully spoke as Saint's eyes fluttered open, automatically drawn to the man in front of him, he smiled. "Why would you sleep on the floor Sup? That doesn't look like the most comfortable spot", he half-smiled with a hint of concern mingled with it. As a response he grumbled and cleared his throat, "I just wanted to be closer to you, and after everything you did for me yesterday, for Happy to kick you out, I didn't see it as fair", he pouted looking back and forth between Zee's face and the floor. A cheeky grin fashioned itself on Zee's lips as he leaned down and grabbed Saint around the waist, pulling him up onto the lounge with him, "you could have always cuddled with me here on the lounge", he wriggled his brows and then furiously started a tickle war with Saint. A beg, a plea, a surrender all between laughter and breaths as he felt himself slipping into a laughing fit. "Fine, fine, I'll stop", Zee said before giving Saint an unexpected peck on the nose. "Hmph", he pouted at the man who nearly took his life with just two hands and an unjustified amount of tickling, "come on, don't be mad at me, I'm sorry", he says which warranted a smiling acceptance to his apology.

The morning carried on like usual, Zee in the kitchen cooking, Saint picking food out of the pan when he knows the chef has his back turned. "Hey, do you remember that party that I was telling you about?", he asked Saint, a confused expression grew rather quickly on his face, "the job I have, the one where I have to take photos for someone's birthday party?", he continues. "Oh, the one where you invited me to be your plus one?", Saint responded with a mouth full of breakfast, and a click of the tongue sang across the counter as Zee responded, "that's the one. Would you still be interested in going, it's tomorrow night?", he hoped that he would receive a yes because as much as he loved photography and a good night out, this was at a strangers house with people he had never met before and that somewhat put a ball of anxiety in his chest, he understood that this was work but he has always done photography for small events, portraits and for fun, this was a whole new territory for him. Saint agreed that he would accompany him and they both smiled at one another for a brief moment before Saint started consuming the food left on both his and Zee's plates.

\---

It's now 5:30 PM and Saint is staring at his full reflection in the mirror, tilting his head side to side, shifting in his outfit, tugging in his jacket trying to reach maximum comfort, "this is the one", he proclaims as he does a little spin, in the process he notices the mountain of clothes on his bed that he had already tried on, never feeling like he was wearing the right attire. He was heading to the kitchen to grab a glass of water from the tap when his phone buzzed. He looked down and it was a message from Zee.

Saint rolled his eyes, but secretly he nearly had to wipe the drool trying to roll down the side of his mouth. He responded telling him to hurry up and smiled whilst locking his phone again, he went back to grab that glass of water. Whilst waiting for his chauffeur to arrive at his door, he grabbed a small backpack and placed inside a bottle of water and a few adult beverages, realising earlier on that he was going to a strangers house and couldn't trust there not to be some kind of drug being passed between drunken kisses and shared drinks, he felt safer taking his own and this way he could maintain a sober state whilst gaining some liquid courage. Before he knew it, there was the click of his front door opening, he popped his head around the corner and yelled out to Zee, "do you feel accomplished now that you finally get to use the key I gave to you?", he chuckled and a thumbs up travelled from Zee's hand to Saint's peripheral vision. Saint quickly zips up his pack and heads towards Zee who wraps his arm around his back and guides him out of the apartment and to the car.

Once arriving, they find a spot just to the right of the giant house party which was ideal for a quick escape at the end of the night once they have had enough of the intoxicating environment. Saint intently listens to Zee as he explains how the night was to progress, he made it known that he would be taking photos for most of the event and it would be a good idea for Saint to socialise and get to know the crowd, "have a good time tonight, that's all I want okay", he finished whilst pinching Saint's chin.

Saint was swimming through waves of alcohol riddled bodies until he finally found an open space just in the corner by a giant picture that portrayed the figure of an old gentleman, beard stretching far below the edge of the photo. A pout crossed his lips as he realised that he would never possess the ability to grow such a masterpiece when he was interrupted by a soft voice next to him, "do you feel bad for him too?", a young woman asked him. Turning to the figure now standing beside him and looking down, a puzzled look scrunched upon his face, "you know, that he has to sit there and watch his house become a field of unconscious flocks of people, destroying everything he once owned, not being able to do anything about it because he is nothing but a photo on the wall", she said so soberly, before smiling at Saint. She offered her hand and finally greeted him as the silence was a little tense, "Sorry, my name is Ally. You are?", she asked and he shook her hand and told her his name. The party slowly went from groups of people talking, drinking, and casually swaying to bodies rubbing their sweaty skin against one another, swaying to the music – not so much because of the rhythm but more likely the alcohol that was filtering through their veins.

Saint was enjoying the company of his new friend, but slowly she grew more intoxicated herself which had her fumbling and stumbling, barely having a grasp on gravity. She ended up falling against Saint, looking up and smiling whilst wrapping her arm around his. Saint wasn't uncomfortable but he didn't come to the party wanting to receive unwanted attention. Due to his ability to lack some stern attributes, he just let her continue to hold him tightly, reassuring himself that he was just being a good friend.

Across the room, Zee was wishing he could join in on some of the fun and have a drink or two but knew his career was important and this was a big job so he snapped a few more photos. Each photo displaying deeper levels of intoxication, euphoria as bodies moulded together into the night as the music grew louder and the room became warmer. He checked his watch and noticed that he had gone over time whilst in the zone and turned his camera off, placing it in the bag sitting on his hip, strap gripping onto his neck as he weaved through the crowd, looking for Saint. Finally making it to the other side, he realised that he felt something on his arm and as he looked down he couldn't tell if that was sweat, saliva or alcohol and he has no idea when it happened, he physically looked disgusted as he wiped his forearm against his jeans to remove the unwanted bodily fluid. As he finally felt less disgusted he looked up and got a glimpse of Saint across the room, being held by another woman.

Zee let out a small laugh and huff whilst looking at Saint. No sting of pain swayed his emotions into a negative position as he held so much trust for Saint and he would never let that faith waver. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Saint.

" _You look a little stuck there Sup. Would you like some assistance?_ ", he laughed after hitting send, tilting his head back up to watch Saint. Moments later a buzz in his pocket caught his attention and he read the message in front of him then darted his eyes around the room, scanning for the man who sent it, finally, his eyes locked on a pair looking back at him and he smiled warmly at Zee. He was strapped up by Ally's arm still wrapping around him so he slowly used one hand to respond to the message, " _yes please_ ".

He walked over to the anchor in front of him and before opening his mouth he contemplated which story to use, he knew he didn't want Saint to feel uncomfortable with the romantic interest card so he puts on a relieved face and enthusiastically speaks over the ear-splitting music. "There you are! I have been looking for you everywhere. Could you please help me load the equipment back into the car?", he asks in his best voice that speaks authority. Quickly Saint catches onto the vibe and stands up straight, "you've got it, Boss!", he smiles back and squirms out of Ally's grip. "I'm sorry, but I have to go and help my boss now, it was so lovely to meet you Ally!", he said to her before walking off, holding onto Zee's shoulder trying not to get lost in the crowd. Ally had let the alcohol take over and she just stood there, unphased she hadn't even noticed Saint had left her side.  
"Thank you", Saint said as they arrived at the car, in response he received a wink before they both sat on each side, letting the car warm up before heading home.

The drive home, Saint noticed that he forgot to drink the bottle of water he had packed and the few drinks that he did consume have finally started to tingle within him. He felt this unbearable urge to turn the radio up and sing to his heart's content. His voice so sweet, yet aggressive as he attempted to sing louder than the singer on the station he had switched to, Zee looked at him in utter shock, "you can sing too? Is there anything you can't do?", he asked the rhetorical question, this only caused Saint to turn and serenade him, placing his hand on Zee's knee, and whilst losing himself to the music he doesn't realise his hand sliding further down his thigh. The car ride became tense quicker than anticipated, the tension wasn't even on Zee's agenda but control of this he lacked. In the back of his mind, all he wanted to do was take Saint back to his apartment and love him the way his body yearned for. The hunger grows stronger but he wants to be a gentleman for Saint. He decides to take Saint home and separate for the night, the car ride on the way is filled with a one-man concert thrown by Saint himself and it doesn't whittle down even after the car has been placed in park and is idling out the front of his apartment.

Zee exits the car first and walks around to help Saint out and up to his front door. Pulling out the spare key that he was given, he unlocks and opens the door to allow access to the slightly less sober man standing there in all of his glory. "Goodnight angel", he says before placing an innocent kiss on his cheek and quickly turning away before he lets his body outweigh his mind. He B-lines for his car and gets in, letting out a deep exhale that was tugging at his chest for the last few minutes, his ribs acting as a prison to his breaths. His phone buzzes just before he pulls away and it's just a picture of Saint pursing his lips, offering a kiss. 

He smiles, runs his finger across the screen, and saves the photo. He quickly makes the photo his home screen wallpaper and locks his phone. Putting the car in drive, he adventures off into the dark with only his headlights showing his path and the near silence of the wind whistling past his slightly ajar window, feeling proud of his strength to resist the charm of Saint. The stars decorate the canvas of twilight skies, highlighting a path that leads right up to the glowing moon, hanging behind a single cloud. The drive home is peaceful, regretting nothing of the past year of his life and feeling more than gracious to the heavens for providing him with his very own angel. 


	26. Chapter 26

It has been a short few weeks since the party had happened, Saint and Zee were both holding each day as yet another blessing, knowing that they have each other’s hearts; unofficially.

This morning when the sun penetrated the apartment and splash vibrancy on the walls, it didn’t achieve waking Saint from his sleep, as he had already risen before the birds could whistle him awake. He sat on his window sill with a warm cup of cocoa, the steam creeping up the window leaving small spurts of condensation. A steamy sip entered his mouth as he let the heat trickle down his throat and warm his soul, he just glanced out into the world surrounding his apartment. Ironically he was day-dreaming about his reality, reliving each moment he shared with Zee and only prayed for more. They were still unofficial and moving at a steady pace, due to Saint asking for the pair to take it slow and Zee being a gentleman who would never harm the one he cares for. He curled up a little more, resting his head on his knees as he still cups the mug in his palms, sipping away at the steamy beverage. He took his phone from his pocket and opened up his Instagram, scrolling nonchalantly through, choosing not to make the move to like any posts, a habit he has found himself in. A notification alerted him on his phone and it was a message from Poppy, he huffed in surprise at the unexpected communication.

_Hey Saint, I was wondering if you would be interested in a weekend away. The boys and I were thinking something like camping, get a small fire going with some snacks, a few drinks, tents – because cabins are for the weak!_ _What do you think?_

Saint scanned the message a few times and thought about it for a moment before typing back his agreeing reply, he asked what he would need to bring.

_Just some snacks, drinks, yourself and your boyfriend ;)_

A shocked laugh escaped his lips, mimicking an offended tone before thinking about how he could reply to warrant the same kind of reaction from Poppy.

_Okay sure, but can you invite Zee, please? :P_

The only response that was received was five laughing emojis and a thumbs up. He stood up and stretched, listening to the small crack that popped down his spine as he tilted himself further back. He trotted over to his kitchen sink and washed up the mug he just kissed moments before when reaching for another sip of cocoa, placing it on the drying rack and then heading to the bathroom. The shower was turned on and it spurted water out aggressively until Saint adjusted it to the correct levels and temperature, when his hand first grazed the water it stung as the heat plummeted onto his skin. Relieved when he finally found the perfect setting, he stepped under the running water and let each drop soak into his skin, preparing to lather himself with shower gel. The walls of the shower began to coat themselves in steam, so on the glass door Saint began tracing a heart and in the centre, he wrote “ **Z+S** ”, before turning around and grabbing the gel. A heaping dollop of shower gel fell to his palm before gliding over each crevice, muscle, vein, and freckle that hugged his skin and bones. He ran his hands and fingers up his neck, reaching his jaw before sliding a little further up and running the tip of his finger across his bottom lip, reminiscing about the near adventure he had on that one drunken night when Zee’s lips became more than acquaintances with his own. The sensation of his finger running across his lip shot tension through his body starting in his chest, as his heart pounded then to his stomach where the butterflies flew wild and lastly entering somewhere a little lower. This took Saint by surprise as he had not thought about this yet, he was still so hung up on merely the few kisses they shared, he didn’t think he would be getting aroused over something so subtle. The shower trickled over his soapy body, as the foam rolled down it brushed over his erection which only made this shower far more difficult to finish. He figured that now was not a good time and turned the hot water off and let the sting of chilled water slap him, knocking him back to his senses. The blood stopped rushing to the tip and slowly his senses were no longer heightened and he exited the shower, grabbing the towel and dabbing himself dry before running it through his wet hair.

\---

It was around lunchtime when Zee was watching Netflix alone in his loungeroom, he was startled by the vibrating of his phone, it was a relay of messages from Saint, one after the other full of excitement and begging for him to come camping, " _they are your friends, after all, so you HAVE to come… Please :(_ “, was the last message and amongst all of this Zee had yet to get a response in. He let Saint know that Poppy had already invited him and he had accepted, this made Saint send a ridiculous amount of smiles back.

\---

The week dragged on for Saint, but Zee was pre-occupied with work as he had a few events he had to shoot for, one being a wedding and the other a child’s birthday party. The party was wild, it was far more chaotic than the one he took Saint too only a few weeks before. There were at least three kids chucking tantrums at any given moment, another one was sneakily stealing icing from the cake when they thought no one was looking, but they failed to avoid leaving evidence around their mouth. Lastly, there was a bouncy castle and truthfully the most difficult part of the event, as all Zee wanted was to jump in there and flip around like a child.

Friday rolled around and the group had decided to meet up and get supplies together, they grabbed enough marshmallows to feed a country, enough alcohol to flood a city and enough meat to possess their own farm. When the afternoon was near, Saint tapped Zee on the shoulder and asked if he had a tent because he sure didn’t and couldn’t even remember the last time he got to go camping. A moment of scratching the back of his head and contemplating, he turned back and replied, “no, I don’t. Maybe we should go get one”, he paused briefly before looking around and back to Saint, “unless you don’t want to share one, we can get two! Whatever suits you, if that would make you more comfortab–“, he was shushed by the finger of the one in front of him. He smiled, “I wouldn’t mind sharing”, then walked in the direction of the store that sold tents.

Zee had driven with Mark, Poppy, and Saint to deliver them all home. Unfortunately, the first stop was Saint’s apartment, meaning that parting ways had to come sooner rather than later but also had two grown men giggling in the back seat as they both said their goodbye’s, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 7:00 AM, be ready”, he yelled to Saint through the window that he had seconds before rolled down, and a nod was received back. The rest of the ride consisted of the boys asking question after question about the tiniest of details surrounding their relationship, it was a weight off the shoulders when Zee found only his own body now sitting comfortably in his car, silence; finally.   
As he drove through the streets, he watched as the sun fell and the moon climbed higher in the sky, a mix of deep twilight and the silver rays illustrated the sky that painted a picture above him. He put the radio on as the silence was a little too loud at this point, as he was left to his thoughts that revolved around the weekend that was going to be spent with his favourite people. The sweet whisper of music filled the car as he hummed along the way, a smile planted and began blossoming on his face as he continued back to his apartment, stopping along the way to grab food for Happy who is back at home waiting for him.

Sure enough, as he opens the door he is immediately met with drool, whimpers, and barks as he tries to navigate around the puppy that was circling his feet below him. “Hey boy, are you hungry?”, he asked Happy and a bark resounded through the apartment before he sat obediently waiting for his food to be placed in his bowl.

As the night grew darker and the temperature dropped, Zee thought it best to rug up in bed and get a peaceful sleep before he had to wake early in the morning for the trip. Before he knew it, almost as soon as his head hit the pillow and his eyes closed, the whistle of a snore pushed out and pulled back in as he fell deeper into his slumber.


	27. Chapter 27

Zee rolled up out the front of Saint’s house with Poppy and Park in the back, followed close behind was Tommy driving with Jimmy, Mark, and Max. You could hear them pull up as the music drowned out any conversation and vibrated each window of the car, sending waves of a dampened noise emitting from the car. Poppy hung out of the back window and made the motion to turn the music down, as a response from the back, Max popped through and leaned over the centre console and flipped the bird. Tommy shook his head and turned the music down and back in Zee’s car, he was shooting Saint a text to let him know that he was now out the front waiting.   
They all waited and finally, Saint made his way out of his front door, pulling it shut and locking it behind me. As soon as he jumped into the car he looked Zee in the eyes and asked, “who is watching Happy? Is he going to be okay over the weekend?”, barely breathing between sentences and anxiety. A chuckle entered the car as Zee responded to him lightly, whilst resting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “my mum is looking after him for the weekend, he will make friends with my two dogs, don’t stress”, he smiled. The anxiety dwindled down until it no longer sat in the pit of Saint’s stomach and he strapped himself in and away they drove. 

After a few hours, and a couple of breaks to “ _water the grass_ ”, Max would say as he urinated on the green grass that grew up past his knees. Arrival was just a few moments away and Zee looked over and noticed that Saint had fallen asleep and was peacefully snoring away, head leaning on the window and he looked uncomfortable. As they pull up before even getting the chance, Saint’s eyes opened when he felt the gravel no longer rumbling underneath the tyres.   
“Rise and shine button”, he ruffled the hem on Saint’s shorts, a quizzical look sprouted on his face and he scrunched his nose. Immediately Zee understood the confusion, “you know, cute like a button. You are cute, so I called you a button. Is there a problem with that?”, in return a simple shake of the head was aimed at the question.   
Everyone started exiting the car, yawning, groaning, and stretching as far as they could reach before unpacking the cars.   
Everyone took the time to help set up the campsite so that it was comfortable, Tommy, Jimmy, and Park all packed single swags, whereas Poppy, Mark, and Max decided to share a three-man tent between them all deciding that there would still be more room in there than there would in a stuffy little swag, the others scoffed at the remark. Saint and Zee had both helped each other as they put their tent up and put all of their belongings inside, lining the outer edge of the interior of the tent. Saint was very meticulous and took the time to make up a nice bed for them, stretching a sheet over and tucking in a thick comforter and added the pillows for a final touch. Zee went to pounce on the bed when Saint stood in front of him, acting as a shield, “don’t even think about it. I just made that and we just arrived. Get out, we can go do something”, Zee just huffed and frowned before turning and leaving the tent. 

“What should we do today?”, asked Tommy to everyone in the group who had now also finished setting up. “Let’s go swimming!”, Jimmy responded whilst running over to his swag and stripping down straight into his trunks, one shoe flying off in the process of his eagerness. Agreement stood with everyone and they all decided to make their way down to the river that wasn’t too far from their camping spot.   
After a short walk, they found themselves at the river’s edge, and just to their right was an old rope, looking delectable and ready to swing upon. Everyone is lined up, waiting for their turn to use the rope swing when Poppy runs up and pushes Park straight into the water, falling on his ass in the process, sounding like a wounded hyena as he whales and laughs all together.   
Finally, the water consumes all and they are splashing around with each other, Jimmy whining at Tommy asking to go on his shoulders only for him to be mentally slapped with wide eyes, horror displayed all over, “do you want me to drown?”, he exclaimed and Jimmy realised that it probably wasn’t best to sit on his shoulders considering the height difference. They all threw around a ball to one another, playing a little bit of piggy in the middle, poor Tommy and lucky Jimmy. 

A while after a few of the boys started to complain that the hunger was beginning to take them one by one, they were exaggerating that death was imminently near. Saint and Mark both raised a hand and offered to go for a walk back to camp and grab some food to bring back, everyone applauded them for their sacrifice.   
As the pair walk back, Mark strikes up a conversation with Saint and asked him about his feelings for Zee. For a moment he hesitated but could feel that the person in front of him was trustworthy and not one to judge.   
“Well, truthfully I think about him every single day. I see him when I read magazines, I smell him when I cook dinner. His presence lingers around me even when he isn’t close by. I look up to him, he is someone that is caring, sweet, funny, dedicated, skilled and the list goes on. I just hope that I have the courage to take our friendship to a new level, part of me is still scared that he may reject the idea of us being more than friends”, he trailed off. A consoling hand patted his back and he looked up at Mark who started to speak, “Let me tell you something. I can see the way he looks at you and I can assure you that you need to ignore your reservations and go for it, rejection is not a word that Zee would ever put into the same sentence as you. Ever since we all started hanging out again, he accidentally slips up and blurts out how he _loves_ the way you do things, even the way you say things. He loves the way that you see the world. So please take my advice, and go for it”. Saint just looked down at his feet, trying to hide the small smile that was appearing on his plump lips, Mark notices and looks at him again, “also, I’ll let you in on a little secret. When he was letting slip all of the things he loves, he mentioned that he truly enjoyed the handwritten notes you left him. He loves old fashioned, the physical form of romance. Maybe leave him a note or two every now and then”. This time, he lifted his head in delight and smiled brightly, they laughed the rest of the way as they shared stories about their adventures with Zee. 

Finally returning to the river, the boys exited the water quicker than the water could allow and they all stumbled to shore. Hungry mouths were at every turn, no matter where you looked there were crumbs and food being inhaled. Before long, they noticed that it was getting late and it was probably wise to head back to camp, “DRINKS ARE ON BOYS”, Poppy shouted as he ran past the group and nearly lost his footing along the way, laughter filled the air on the walk back to the campground.   
The night grows dark and the embers from the bonfire light up the circle of men surrounding it, the quite insects play their nightly tunes in the distance as the soft breeze rustles the branches that hung above. They all sat around with a drink in hand and a pile of empty bottles beside them, Saint was quietly singing to himself completely zoned out and off with the fairies when Tommy who was next to him hears him. “You can sing! Boys! Saint can sing, louder boy, louder!”, he yelled into the night and they all started singing along with him. It wasn’t long before the tunes became louder and more slurred, but next to him he noticed that Zee wasn’t singing but instead he was quivering because leave it to him to forget to pack a jacket. Saint smiled and got up as the crowd of men chanted tunes into the night and he hiked over to the tent and grabbed the blanket from their bed. When returning he draped the blanket over one side of Zee and sat as close to him as possible and hung the other half over his own shoulder, cocooning them between each corner of the blanket, engulfing him in a warm hug. They both looked at each other, sharing smiles as they listened to the singing, the crack of the firewood as it burns into the night and they both pick up their drinks and cheers each other, glasses clinking. 

The later it became, the more disorientated each man became and it seemed sensible to stop drinking and head to bed. Each one, one after the other slipped into their swag and tent a few stumbles here and there but successful they all were. When the two entered their tent, Zee walked in first, and with the alcohol engulfing him the heat began rising and with a swift movement, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. Immediately Saint began scolding him as he slowing sunk down into the bed, hovering over him, “if you don’t put a shirt on, you are going to catch a cold overnight!”, he yelled in a whisper. Without any reluctance, Zee grabbed Saint by the wrist and pulled him down onto the bed, bringing him into a tight bear hug and resting his whole body on him. A small chuckle accidentally escapes the lips of the one beneath which is suddenly flipped and he becomes flustered at the realisation that the man lying on him is naked from the waist up. The shyness creeping in left his throat dry and Saint cleared his throat, this made Zee look up at him and notice his crimson cheeks. He pulls himself up and leans on his elbow, now hovering over the younger he cups his cheek and rubs his thumb just under his eye, comforting his embarrassment.   
“I hope this isn’t too fast”, Zee says whilst looking Saint in the eye and then leans down, pressing their lips together. The kiss is soft and smooth, almost as if their lips were breakable. They both refused to separate as Saint continued the kiss, delicately pulling Zee’s lip between his, never parting their lips to further the kiss, this was a moment in time that deserved to last an eternity. A kiss so sweet and so fragile that it needed to be done with care, and that they did. 

Eventually, they released each other to take in the oxygen around them and it was Zee’s turn to feel flustered as his cheeks grew new shades of pink. Trying to hide his blush he reaches over and grabs his shirt, pulling it back on, realising that yes, Saint was right but also he wasn’t sure he could make it through the night with his bare body up against Saint. After regaining himself, he turns back and looks at Saint who is lying down with a small playing on his lips, he leans over and leaves small kisses on the tip of his nose, he kisses each eyelid letting all of his lashes tickle his lips and finally reaching his forehead, lingering for a moment and pressing a peck to say goodnight.   
Both lowering down and rolling to the side, Saint ends up within the arms of Zee despite knowing that they are yet to be labelled as more than friends, the silence was peaceful but broken momentarily when Saint spoke up, “that wasn’t too fast” and he could feel the smile grow as Zee’s face was cuddled up into his neck. They both squeezed a little tighter that night and fell into slumber almost at identical times, the night continued on its journey as it spent its time chasing the sun. 


	28. Chapter 28

The crisp morning air filtered through each small pocket of honeycomb gauze that sheltered the boys from unwanted attacks from the surrounding infestation of insects overnight. A lick of cold, intense air climbed up his shorts that were forming a tent on Saint as he slightly tossed in his sleep, a small mosquito had weaselled its way inside the tent, unannounced and the irritating hum danced around his face. A shooing motion automatically slapped the air as he unconsciously tried to rid the nuisance from his personal space. The buzz grew louder and then out of nowhere a small sting on his cheek appeared, causing him to send a shocking blow to himself, in turn, this removed his stirring and turned it into a jolt of shock, he was now woken. The pain gradually weaved into irritation but then harshly contorted into a raging dilemma as he coats his face is shades of mortification as he becomes aware of the new campsite inside of his boxers.   
The predicament was about to become far more complicated as Zee began stirring in his sleep, wrapping an arm around the panicked one’s waist, unintentionally he tucked his hand under his shirt and traced circles on Saint’s stomach, reaching the centre of his stomach and travelling down to the lining of his boxers. Without any conscious thought, Saint shot up and ran for the exit, accidentally kicking Zee in the leg on the way. Fate was not on his side lately, and he was fiddling so frantically at the zipper whilst Zee whined with closed eyes at him, “what on earth are you doing? Why did you kick me?”, he scoffed only to hear the response of the zipper opening and then closing. 

Shortly after, Zee had finally exited the tent only to find almost all of the boys already sitting around the fire, yawning. Max was still in the tent, refusing to meet with the sun yet but the others insisted he gets out and enjoys it since it was the last day for camping, tomorrow morning would haunt him much more than today as they were planning on leaving at sunrise. To his surprise, however, Saint was not occupying any of the seats surrounding the smouldering fire, “do you guys know where Saint is?”, he didn’t lack an ounce of concern as he questioned each one of them, no one verbalised but all shook their heads. He figured it was best if he used his concern as fuel to go find the missing man but as he stands up, the rustling of branches grew louder and Saint emerged from the trees.   
“Where did you go? And why did you kick me before?”, Zee investigated his face as if searching a crime scene for evidence but there were no witnesses and it was lacking any clues. He hesitated for a moment before laughing awkwardly, “I _really_ had to go to the bathroom, sorry”, he ended with an amateurish, tilted smile which only left Zee humming a dissatisfied groan, making his suspicion known. 

“Boys!”, shouted Max, acting as if he wasn’t wallowing in self-pity in the tent just moments ago, “We should play some poker”, he rubbed his hands together like a scheming mobster from a Hollywood film. “And what do you propose we use as currency? Sticks”, Tommy huffed and rolled his eyes. Max just raised his pointer, wiggled his brows, and shot off like a rocket. The sound of a ruckus only followed as he rummaged through his bag, “found them!”, he whaled from inside the tent. Walking out with pathetic levels of _swag_ , he threw four bags of marshmallows straight at Tommy who bravely cursed him instantly. “We can use these, but if you are too scared you could always sit out”, Max tormented him. “Hey, I’m not scar---”, Tommy began but was whacked in the face with a bag of marshmallows by Park. “You’re on baby”, Park embraced one of his hands in the other and cracked his knuckles, showing that he meant business.   
A circle was formed and each male took their share of currency, “I reckon that we need some kind of punishment for the one who becomes bankrupt first”, Poppy suggests. Immediately Jimmy speaks up, “the loser has to run from here to the river and back”, he pauses as everyone looks at him with reasonable doubt before he continues, “naked!”. A few hi-fived whereas others such as Saint and Tommy looked more constipated at the anticipation that they may be the unfortunate soul that has to bare his naked body. “Let us begin”, Max exclaims as they all ready themselves. Round after round, each blowing away their _cash_ as they fought for dominance, this round had Jimmy up against Saint as all of the other admitted defeat and folded. Jimmy is sitting there with a grin on his face, looking smug as Saint chews on his cheek. Max places the final card on the table and they both knock on the table, “ha, I hope you are prepared to cry yourself on your way down to the river naked”, Jimmy gloated. This was the deciding factor, up until this point everyone played it safe, trying to avoid the chance of holding the losing title, both Saint and Jimmy had gone all in, marshmallows of pink and white created squares of sugar dust as they hit the table in front of them. A master at his poker face, Saint takes a quick, quiet gulp and inhales through his nose. Within seconds, Jimmy throws his cards on the table and picks up a marshmallow, claiming victory, “you should have folded Saint, my poor boy, because this four of a kind is the reason you will be showing off your skin to the natural world around you”, cockiness oozing from every syllable falling from his lips. “Wait”, Saint let fall from his lips as he slowly lowered his hand and placed it on the table, “I believe it is you my friend who has been given the trophy of the biggest loser, as I am sure you can see, here in my hand is a perfect royal flush. I think everyone here knows, nothing beats this hand. So I will take all of those marshmallows off your hands for you, we don’t want to get your clothes too dusty for when you have to put them back on”, he says with a sweet smile. The site is quiet, eerily quiet before every single person, minus Jimmy falls off their chairs and into a fit of roaring laughter. 

A scowl so large it almost covered his whole body as he stripped, not daring to look back he covered his manhood and ran off to the river. “Shall we put this to rest and maybe play some soccer?”, Mark suggested whilst he heard Jimmy groan from the distance. Everyone agreed, including Jimmy once he was back and fully clothed, he was still extremely displeased with himself for being too presumptuous.   
The scorching sun was beating down hard, turning pale skin into a crisp red. Some of the boys removed their shirts and wore them over their heads to protect their faces, the ball flew across the makeshift field and with each kick more clouds of dirt coated them, sticking to the sweat that was coating each one of them. After a few hours, the exhaustion was exceeding its limits and some of the boys were crying of starvation as they trudged back to camp. Saint on the other hand felt less fatigued and more so dirty. He figured that whilst everyone was winding down and getting ready for the afternoon to fall to darkness, he would wash up before the moon hung high in the sky. He ducked to the tent and grabbed a towel and some fresh clothes before journeying down to the river to abolish the pollution covering him. Along the side of the river was a small path made with fallen rocks, it wasn’t slippery but a little jagged so he was cautious when crossing over to place his belongings on the tall rock that sat just off the edge of the river which was being plummeted by the spilling waterfall above. Unwinding from a day of enjoyment, he stripped down to his boxers and for a split moment this morning’s vision reappeared and the wave of bashfulness swarmed him. He closed his fists and shook the thought from his head as he stepped down and melted into the river surrounding him, the cool water rippled around him coating him in comfort. He was being engulfed in this divine pool of water as it danced on his senses, the brisk bath refreshed him and sent him into a world of bliss. 

Cracks of branches beneath his feet sounded as he made his way down to the river to enjoy some alone time with Saint was all Zee could think about ever since they returned from the soccer game not too long ago. Once he had navigated to the clearing, he peers over to see Saint floating in the water, eyes closed and enjoying the euphoric moment. As he neared, a small hum escaped the throat of the floating man, still swimming in dreamland. He takes a brief moment to enjoy the sight of Saint, in all of his glory wearing nothing but boxers but decides that he should contain his thoughts. He begins removing each item of clothing, not even attempting to announce his presence, his shirt slides off his back and his pants drop to the rocks below, leaving him in only his boxers also. He takes a few steps into the water and it doesn’t take long for him to be submerged in the chilling pool of water.   
He softly paddles over to Saint and snakes an arm under him, preparing to send waves of fear through him, thinking to himself “ _it’s about time I got you back for all the previous frightening experiences you tailored for your amusement_ ”, as he grips the side of Saint’s waist, he pulls him into a firm hug. To his dismay, fear was an expression that never painted his face, just a smile. “Come on! When will it be my turn to scare the life out of you? You have already shed many years off of my lifespan, at this rate I will die before I even get the chance to sit in a rocking chair”, he huffed, dropping Saint and crossing his arms like a child. The only form of response was a childish giggle that curdled in his throat before he shook his head aggressively and then smiled.   
They talked for a little bit, sharing their favourite parts of the weekend and splashing around. “Hmm, actually, I don’t think I have experienced the best part of the weekend yet”, Saint claims as he bobs up and down in the water. With a swoop of his arms, he is now right in front of Zee, as he takes him and engulfs him into a deathly tight hug. 

He brings his lips up to Zee’s ear and whispers to him, “thank you. Thank you for this weekend, thank you for your friends and thank you for this past year. We have built something special, together. I am grateful for the trust you put in me, with all of your heart. I have been sitting on this for a little while and I know that I said I wanted to take things slowly but my heart is pleading for me to let go of my fears, it has been very impatient truthfully. So…”, he took an extremely shaking breath and looked Zee in the eyes, “I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t want us to be friends anymore. I am no longer ready to place our future on hold, I want to take the next step with you, together, as a couple”. A lump formed in the back of his throat by the time he finished what he had to say, fear balled up in his stomach, and rolled around causing slight nausea as he prepared for the worst. To his surprise, the embrace around him grew loose and Zee had taken a hand and gracefully placed it on the back of Saint’s neck, cradling it and his back with his other. Seconds had passed and an eruption of elation was created in both of them as he leaned forward and held his lips against Saints. He deepened the kiss, tending to both of their needs, he opened his mouth and tasted the others lower lip, clasping it between his own. Exploration of each-others mouths seemed like the only goal both were aiming to achieve at this moment. The saltiness that sat upon his lips met with Zee’s tongue as he grazed it lightly when pulling him in for more. The flat of his thumb rubbed the hairline at the back of Saint’s head as Saint crumbled in his arms, the kiss was more than a simple yes, it was a grand gesture, a moment in time that ought to be paused. At this moment, all he wanted was to carry on caressing him like this for eternity. Breaths were now shaky as they could both feel the temperature rising and this caused them to both instinctively pull away, being conscious of the other's feelings.   
After some necessary breathing, they look at each other, “Is that a yes?”, Saint asks with a shy grin. “Of course it is, and somehow I came down here to shock you and as per usual you were the one to shock me, how typical”, he chuckled and held him a little tighter.   
The pair started to shiver and began looking like an old couple as the wrinkles on their body began appearing, looking like prunes. They both jumped out, towelled off and heading back up to the campsite where everyone was relaxing by the fire. 

The moon graces the darkness and creates shadows in the night. Everyone was enjoying the company as the warmed up next to the pit of fire in the centre of them. Clinks of beers as the banter carried on into the night, “how was the little guy today on your way down to the river Jimmy?”, Tommy mocked, “oi, what do you mean little?”, he fought back. “I mean, I didn’t see anything as you stripped”, Poppy joined in the torment and they all began bickering.   
Across the fire, Saint and Zee sat idly as they enjoyed the company of one another, Zee leans over and whispers as softly as he could, daring not to be heard, “would it be okay if I told everyone?”, he asked with pride rolling off his tongue, so proud that he finally has the one thing his heart was yearning for. Saint just nodded in his direction, so within a split second the tapping of his glass bottle grabbed everyone’s attention. “Alright boys, so I have something to say”, he started and cleared his throat. “I would like to introduce you to---“, he manoeuvred to the side and pointed in Saint’s direction, Max interrupts and stupidly says, “dude, we know who Saint is, why are you introducing him now?”, he looks with a crumpled up expression, Mark just slaps him on the arm and frowns at him, physically telling him to be quiet. He looks back over and nods at Zee, non-verbally telling him to continue, “so, as I was saying, _Max_ , I would like to introduce everyone to Saint, my boyfriend”. The whole group rejoices, chant and cheer, glass bottles are clinking as they celebrate and clapping of hi-fives echoed through the branches neighbouring them. 

The flames of the fire become embers as one by one, they disappear into their tents and swags. Saint and Zee enter the tent, hand in hand, heart to heart, and curl up under the comforter. The warmth of the comforter had nothing on the warmth he felt in his chest as he is held within Zee’s arms that night. Caressing each other, sliding his foot up the leg and hanging it over his hip as he rolls into the embrace. Getting to sleep was difficult, stay asleep was hard but waking up was what he was eagerly awaiting because it was their first day as an official couple. 

The morning rolled around and the sun had barely kissed the Earth when the sound of packing had begun. Rubbish was allocated to one car and belongings to the other, the buzz of zippers was tempting the ears of the holder as it was finally clasping shut. Once everyone was packed and the site they were visiting looked tidy, they all got in and headed on their trip home. Music was blessing the ears of drivers and passengers as the road ahead slowly became the road behind as the got closer to their destination.   
Zee dropped everyone home and was now sitting out the front of Saint’s apartment, saying their goodbyes, both admitting that they already missed each other. Finally, after a long farewell, Saint exited the car and headed for the boot to grab out his things, he quickly pulls out a pen from his bag and a piece of an old catalogue and starts writing. The words of Mark rang in mind about how Zee cherished written notes, so he wrote what he deemed as cute and popped it into Zee’s luggage.   
He waved goodbye one last time and off he drove.  
Upon arrival back home, Zee was exhausted from driving and didn’t want to unpack, he just wanted to sleep. He went to jump in bed and realised that his phone was close to flat and he needed to get his charger from the luggage. When opening the bag, he noticed some paper and written on the top corner was a love note from Saint. 

_Dear you,_

_I forgot to tell you what the best part of my weekend was.  
_ _Whilst I was sitting next to you, watching you. It occurred to me that I could sit around all day wearing nothing but your kiss._

_From me._

A small tear welled up in the corner of his eye as he sat on the edge of his bed, holding it close to his heart. This was another memory he would cherish for as long as he lived, he walked over and placed it in the top draw of his desk, the draw was lined and overflowing with photos of Saint and all of the letters that they exchanged, knowing that one day this will become something more than an overflowing draw. 


	29. Chapter 29

A few days had ventured on leaving the camping trip now a thought of the past, Saint and Zee had been exchanging love over a message and phone calls whilst they have been separated. They were unfortunate in that they had not been within the same vicinity since the trip and both were missing one another. 

Zee was displaying his bare chest to the ceiling above him as he sprawls himself out on the lounge in his living room. The darkness outside of his apartment travelled for miles, only being lit up by scattered rays falling from street lights through the town’s alleyways. He had his phone to his chest, eyes closed, and waiting for the reply from Saint, he missed him dearly and the painful distance was creating a void in his chest. He thought back to the moment he found the sweet note from Saint and how his heart only grew larger, his heart was growing so fond that he worried that one day it may go beyond and it may no longer fit in his chest. The night he read those words had him sending a message response as he was wiping away the few tears that escaped his sockets, the message of a thank you and unspoken words did not happen upon a reply that night like he had hoped which had the consequence of asleep with his phone.   
As he was contorting his memories back to that fateful night, his phone finally alerted him that he had to wait no longer for a response, and coming back to reality he picked up his phone. A message from Saint turned his dazed, glassed over characteristic into a bright, almost electric reality. 

From Saint: _I miss you too much, can we go on a date?  
_ _As boyfriends :*_

He had less time to process the message before his fingers took control and started typing away. A hasty yes flew across the invisible waves, straight to the other end of the line. As much as he loved to message, he couldn’t help himself and in return, Saint opted to call and organise the details, one part because he liked being organised but two parts because he missed hearing Zee’s voice. They both settled on a night out in town, sharing a popcorn as they held hands in the theatre and watched the cinematic world of wonders come to life. Having colours embark on a journey that started on the screen, only to reach their iris’ and dance along the clear barrier, awakening their vibrant imaginations. They were both thrilled to be within one another’s company, openly holding hands, knowing that Zee will run his finger up and down the back of Saint’s hand, caressing it as they let the icy night air create hair raising tension beneath the thick weight of jacket that hugged their bodies. Sending shrills of bitter, brisk drafts to kiss the outer layer of skin that protects their muscle and bone beneath. Watching that one street light at the end flicker, as it has done for years, clearly showing perseverance; that one must not give up, don’t ever let your light favour the darkness. The sound of glasses clinking as they pass the overly priced, lavish restaurants that inhabited middle-aged couples on romantic and social engagements, that are perfectly side by side in the courtyard and scents of crispy pork spilling through the air, bringing new customers in by the pits of their stomach. Saint was most excited to just be in the same breathing space as Zee, he knows that they have been close for around a year now but he could finally be closer, he could feel the air escape his lungs and brush his cheek when they whispered into one another’s ears. He could hold his hand a little tighter, kiss his cheek a little longer, smile his smile a little brighter and this is all he could ever ask for in life; endearing devotion. 

Lunchtime rolled around and unlike any other day, Zee was feeling overly rambunctious and impatient. He paced around his apartment with no particular destination, one moment he is dusting a shelf, he questioned how he could let it get so filthy; _note to self, dust more often_ , his facial expression portraying disgust. Once he had all surfaces looking like they had just been through the washing machine, he played with Happy for a little while. Happy had only managed to grow bigger and hungrier as he aged, much like his other parent. A huff of air escaped his lips, ascending and pushing the hair that draped over his face, away. He finally sat on the lounge and Happy found himself kneeling at Zee’s feet, howling for some love, attention, and a rub of the tummy. After a few moments of rubbing the soft space under his neck, he found that magical spot, you know; the one that has him involuntarily shaking his leg desperately.   
All of these activities just weren’t passing enough time and he decided to give in to the temptation; he would just go over now and hang out with Saint all afternoon.   
The drive there gave Zee a moment in time to paint sweet portraits of Saint in his mind as he drove by the town’s landmarks, each image delicately illustrated every individual feature that he adored and soon enough his lips parted, sharing a beautiful, toothy smile. He finally entered the street which held his destination and he pulled his car up just down the block before hopping out and locking it. A quick tune of five knocks was crawling down and under the door, alerting anyone inside that they had a visitor, however to Zee’s surprise there was no answer. As a precaution, he knocked once more but only to find the same outcome. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his keys which granted him access to Saint’s apartment, so he let himself in and scanned the room only to detect that it was unoccupied. 

He was curious as to why Saint wasn’t around so he took out his phone and started calling him. “That’s odd”, he exclaimed whilst pulling his phone away from his ear, “I can hear his phone ringing”. He crept through the apartment and to Saint’s bedroom where the sound was emitting from and he found the man himself, sound asleep in bed. He looked down at his watch and it was one in the afternoon, “ _why would he still be asleep at this time, could he be sick?_ ”, he thought. He quietly walked over to the bed and lowered himself down onto the mattress below, sinking in as he sat down. The sudden change in elevation woke Saint from his slumber, Zee was quick to apologise. With sleepy eyes and a hoarse voice, Saint asked, “what are you doing here?”, but Zee just answered with another question, “are you okay? Are you sick?”. Suddenly, Saint shot up and began aggressively trying to untangle himself from the sheets whilst profusely apologising, “I am so sorry! I can’t believe we are going to be late because of me. I will quickly get changed, oh I’m so sorry!”, the frantic nature of anxiety oozed out of him and spilled onto the bed, however, Zee grabbed him by both of his arms and shook him back to reality. He quickly explained that it was only one in the afternoon and they were not late for their date, it still took him some time to comprehend as he was still dazed from his sleep moments before. A weight was sitting on his shoulders for a moment, he looked confused whilst staring straight ahead at his wall, Zee just held his shoulder, “are you okay?”, he emphasised again, worry threaded between his brows as he looked towards him. Saint exhaled for a long time, then plonked back into his pillow, leaving a head shaped indent, “well, yes”, he explained that he was okay. Not quite believing it, the one sitting up started running his hand up and down his arm, “well something isn’t right, I’m worried about you”, Zee says with woefulness. 

“I promise, I’m not sick. Sincerely, I just could not find a safe space within my dreams last night. Instead, I was riddled with nightmares. I finally found a less dreadful moment early this morning and must have completely fallen back to sleep”, Saint disclosed. The crease between his brows created the sense that he was still tense from the occurrence of unpleasant dreams, so carefully and softly, Zee rubbed in circles and relieved the tension within. “If you ever have something like this happen again, call me. I don’t care what time it is, nor what the reason may be. I just want to be assured that you are always going to be okay, let me protect and care for you, please”, he almost begged. At that moment there was a complete sense of utter security between them both and this would only add fuel to the fire in their hearts. 

For a while, they both just laid down and held each other, silence consumed the room as they effortlessly breathed in traces of oxygen. Zee finally broke the speechless moment and asked, “what were the nightmares about?”. The conversation continued and he explained that in one part he was being held captive and there was no chance of escape; he felt trapped. The suffocating feeling of never being able to reach peace again only increased his fear and heart rate. He was never to see his family or loved ones again, nor even the light of day. And with all of this happening, not a single tear fell, just a strange feeling of uneasiness plagued his mind. The heavyweight of what he had to surrender to last night had Zee running a hand over Saint’s hair, brushing strands through his fingers, trying to detangle the remnants of last night’s horrors. Only minutes carried on and he noticed that the angel laying in his arms had started to stifle a few broken snores, he slowly broke from his grasp and lowered him onto the bed, tucking him in carefully. 

He winds up floating around the kitchen whilst trying to decide how to progress with today. He knows for sure that he doesn’t want to disturb Saint, but he also refuses to desert him. “ _Maybe I could wake him up with lunch in bed_ ”, crossed his mind and with that, he made his way to the fridge; the _empty_ fridge. He realised that without ingredients, his plan was destined to fall far from success. A thought wiggled it’s way in as an afterthought, “ _maybe I could stock up his fridge, he loves food so he would love that, right?_ ”. Without wanting to impede on tonight’s date and deterring him from wanting to share a meal, he found it best to avoid feeding the dragon at such an hour. He remembered that Saint fell asleep in his arms and to avoid any fretting happening if he were to wake when his presence was missing, he left a note on the bench explaining that he would return shortly. 

The shops were only a short distance from the apartment and to save the time and effort of driving, he took it upon himself to enjoy the afternoon sun as he walked to his destination. Slow-paced steps, one after the other, had him entering the grocer – cute, quiet, and family-owned. The ring of a bell sounded as he opened the shop door, warranting a short elderly lady to greet him from across the room. He grabbed a cart and scanned through each isle, adding more and more to the total and he could only imagine how happy Saint would be to have a huge quantity of food all to himself. 

He arrived at the checkout and started unloading everything, he noticed that the store was rather quiet for a Friday afternoon. “I have to ask dear, why are you here instead of downtown at the food market? I hear that it is twice as big as last year, and three times tastier”, the little old lady spoke softly to him. “Oh, I had no idea that the market was in town. Maybe I will go and check it out with my boyfriend, thank you ma’am”, he bowed his head with respect. She carefully scanned each item, bagging them up and ringing up the total. 

He walked out feeling pleased and excited to tell Saint about it, “ _maybe we can go there instead for our date tonight, it would be perfect!_ ”, he thought. 

Shortly later he was back on Saint’s doorstep, balancing bags and trying to wriggle the key into the lock, and once opened he was propping the door open unintentionally with a bag that was getting stuck on his way through. He darted into the kitchen and rapidly began unpacking and repacking away, excited to show off his present. Before he finished, however, a sluggish angel emerge from the bedroom and was standing lazily in the doorway of the kitchen, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What are you doing?”, his question startled Zee and as a result he drops the can from his hand, sending a loud clunk across the room and he turns sharply to find eyes staring drowsily back at him. Hesitation paddled in his mind before he motioned for Saint to come and take a look. The moment he stood in view of the contents of the fridge, his eyes shifted from lifeless to stunned, “Wow, what is all of this?”, he ecstatically asked. “I just wanted to make you feel better, and I know how much you love food”, he wrestled with his own fingers whilst looking down hoping to receive praise for his hard work. He was granted a hug and kiss on the cheek as a thank you for his kindness, “so, when I was out getting all of this, I found out that there is a food market in town. Would you be interested in taking our date on an adventure to a land of flavour?”, he looked at Saint with a wide smile. A nod of the head was all he needed to start ushering him into the bathroom, telling him to freshen up and wash away last night’s worries, get dressed however he wanted and then they would set off with the intention of ending tonight with pants unbuttoned and bellies overflowing. 

As Saint turned off the shower the patter of water still sounded around him, looking back he tilted his head in confusion as the tap was no longer running. He looked out the window and noticed that the sky had darkened and a shower of raindrops was gracing the world below. Disappointed and fearing that the date may have to be postponed he ran out into the kitchen in a poorly wrapped towel, still wet from the shower and nervously looking for Zee. With the frantic mess he was, he started beaming his thoughts out loud and amongst this, his wet body became bare as the towel fell to his feet, unaware and unphased he continued to fill the ears of the listener with nonsense thoughts. A chuckle escapes Zee and he tucked his lower lip in his mouth, trying to suppress the sound and this caused Saint to halt and look at his confused. “What are you laughing at?”, he asked and in response, a finger pointed down to his ankles and the crimson grew drastically on his cheeks. He huffed and puffed, grabbing the towel and his first thought was to cover up but his ego got to him, so he threw his towel over his shoulder and strutted back into the bathroom, acting powerful. 

From the other room a yell bounced off the walls, “don’t worry about the rain, I have an umbrella!”, a small smile played on his lips as he dried his hair off with the towel sitting on his shoulder. 

Half an hour had passed and it was half-past five in the afternoon, the stroll of an angel bared itself to the world around it whilst navigating to the loungeroom. “You look cute”, Zee spoke whilst taking his hand and kissing it. “Shall we head out to the market now?”, Saint offered his hand again and once it was taken in the other, he sped off, pulling Zee towards the door. 


	30. Chapter 30

The glimmer of glistening lights paraded over stands and stalls that travelled all over the market they had just arrived at together. The rain was still trickling down and painting their umbrella, but this was not going to dampen their date tonight. One foot after the other, small cracks of pebbles sounded beneath their feet as they moved between stalls. The sounds of rain dancing on the tarps and tin roofs created a sense of tranquillity, a special moment in time. Saint and Zee were on such a high from being within one another’s company, that all of their senses had heightened. The sounds of the rain whispered in their ears penetrated deeply, almost rumbling their ear drums. The glowing orbs of light twinkled in their eyes as it hung around poles and stands. They felt the cool air hug them tightly trying to infiltrate the warmth beneath their clothes, the heat of strong spice carried through the air and tickled their noses. It wasn’t long before the final sense of taste was welcomed into the mouths of both as they devoured their food, letting it descend into the pits of their stomach.

To their joy, there was even a stand offering platters of delicious dog treats and without hesitation Saint pulled out his wallet and flashed a few notes, plus a tip for the lovely old man who was selling. Smooth harmonies and beats were winding through the night air and becoming acquainted with everyone who came close enough to hear the delicate music play. There was a spot just nearby where the music was being played, they both opted to take a seat where it was dry and as they sat, Zee put the umbrella down and splashed them both with the few drops that had made a home on the exterior of the umbrella. There was an unnecessary amount of space separating them as they watched on and Saint wanted to be closer. He rested his hand just beneath Zee’s thigh and pulled himself over, their knees touching and feet tapping the others playfully. Zee lowered his head to smile at the motion as his cheeks grew warm and blotches of pink labelled his face. He bit his lower lip and quickly rushed over to kiss Saint on the cheek before smiling at him, “I like when you are this close to me”, he spoke quietly through a smile which helped transfer the blush from his cheeks to the others. They both softly giggled and turned back to watch the band of musicians, being swallowed by sweet melodies. They both swayed along to the rhythm for what felt like hours when Zee shot and turned his body to face the other, wrapping his hand around Saint’s upper thigh in the process. “Before we leave tonight, we have to see the fireworks!”, he near shouted at Saint with a great amount of excitement laced in his voice, “I heard some people talking about it whilst you were buying Happy the treats”, he finished and gripped Saint’s thigh tighter.  
He squirmed a little, scanning around to make sure no one was in prying distance and he leaned over to Zee and whisper, “um, you really need to take your hand back”, a nervous look painted his expression. In return a confused look was staring back at him, “why?”, he replied quickly, and maybe a little too loudly. Saint cleared his throat and rested his chin on his fist whilst looking around once again, he stopped and looked Zee dead in the eye then pointed down to his crutch, “that’s why”, he sped past pink and went straight to red, all over.  
A small bulge had slowly started to grow next to Zee’s palm that was planted just a few inches away, instead of feeling embarrassment like he generally would, he moved his hand and acted powerful, dusting the imaginary dust off his shoulders; acting proud.

It was nearing the time for the fireworks display, so they both left the seated area and walked across the park to find a field with a crowd surrounding it. “This must be where it goes off, judging by the lack of space”, they both laughed and scooted around a few people before finding a place that held just enough room for them both but still surrounded by the public eye. Zee looked down at his watch and told Saint that it was about to begin, just as he looks back up at him, the display begins. Cracks of sound slice through the air, attacking everyone within the area. Many colours melted together as they illustrated the sky, becoming one with the stars above. Flash after flash, people openly gawking over the incredible display happening right above them, Zee snakes his arms around Saint’s waist and holds on tight as he shifts his chin to rest on the others shoulder; what a perfect fit.  
“You know, I don’t need to dream or wish anymore. I am certain that our future together is more colourful and brighter than these fireworks here tonight. I love you”, he whispered then placed a kiss against his ear. As much as Saint wanted to respond, his heart rate had increased so drastically that a lump had surged all the way up and sat in his throat, not so much out of fear of what he was just told, but nervous that his response wouldn’t live up to the expectations. In return he held his gaze up at the sky and squeezed Zee’s hands a little tighter, offering an unspoken return of reassurance.

“Would you like to go for a walk?”, Saint asked, hoping that they could continue to get some fresh air almost silently begging for the cool air to kiss his cheeks and return them to their cool, pale shade; draining them of their colour.  
“What’s on your mind?”, Zee asked because he noticed the colour still pinching the cheeks of the other. “Nothing”, Saint shyly responds which warranted a glare, _don’t lie_. “I just, I love you too. I just don’t feel like me telling you really shows you how much I actually do. My words seem so miniscule compared to how my heart really feels”, he tilted his head and pouted cutely at Zee.  
Hands fell from the others as they trailed slowly up his arms, and before he knew it, Saint’s cheeks were being cupped by the other’s palms. “Then don’t say it”, Zee said and began softly leaving sweet kisses against his lips. Tucking the lower lip between his teeth, gently nibbling a little. The kiss started to deepen as they began tasting one another, very delicately, tongues were subtly caressing as the spices from earlier danced around their mouths. Saint tilted his head to gain more space between their lips when he felt a drop of water splash and roll down his cheek. He stopped and looked at Zee, checking to see if maybe he was shedding tears for their intimate moment. Confusion rolled around his mind as he noticed that the only thing on his face was his complete devotion. It was quickly realised that the water droplet came from above as it began raining, _very_ heavily and very quickly. “Uh oh, I think I left the umbrella back at the seats”, he ushers a sorry towards Saint as he gritted his teeth with guilt. The other just shrugged his shoulders, looked him in the eyes and brought their lips back together. The water was running down their faces and creating puddles in their mouths as they hungrily urged for a deeper kiss. Shaken moans started escaping from Saint’s throat and he knew that it was probably best to head back before he was arrested for an excessive amount of public display of affection. Yes, it was almost crucial to be held within Zee’s arms as his fingers caressed the arch in his back which is what caused the unconscious growl just moments before. But he knew that if things continued to escalate, he wouldn’t be able to contain himself.

They both started running, pulling their jackets up over their heads in an attempt to shelter themselves from becoming a walking swimming pool. They had been running for a little while when they finally reached Saint’s apartment, both fiddling in their pockets to grab the key and they both succeed in unison, but Zee pulled back and let the other unlock the apartment door.  
They went in, one after the other and as they were hanging up their jackets, Saint laughed, “we are ridiculously cliché, we just kissed in the rain”. “And I loved every single moment, want to continue”, Zee asked whilst wiggling his eyebrows. A small slap on the arm before he pointed to the bathroom and requested that he go clean up so they would get cozy in bed before either of them started getting sick.

Saint was heading to the bedroom after washing away the coat of rainwater that hugged his body. The room was dimly lit as only the bedside lamp was emitting light across the room, leaving some corners to still hide in the darkness.  
The minute that his behind hit the bed he was pulled over into a tight embrace, “what are you doing”, he laughed whilst wriggling around, pretending as if he was trying to escape. As he finally started to spin around, Zee pushed him down into the comfort of his mattress and in the process his shirt accidentally tucked itself under, baring the skin that was beneath it. “Your body is one that I will never get tired of seeing”, Zee said whilst placing a kiss just above the hem of his shorts, his cool lips embracing the others warm stomach. He looked up into Saint’s eyes and even with the dim light unfavourably covering up a lot of his features, he could still see the dilatation within his pupils.  
He kissed him a few more times on the waist as he dug his fingers lightly into the side of Saint’s stomach, dragging them around to the curve in his back. “Please tell me if you want me to stop”, the sound of his voice travelled up his body and crawled into his ears which sent shivers down the back of his neck. The silence that spilled through the air after told Zee that he was okay to proceed. He trailed kisses across to the other side of his waist, clipping the band of his pants with his lower lip and after this he slowly sent soft, wet kisses up to his sternum. “I need you to tell me if this is okay, I need to know that you are comfortable Saint”, he pleaded for a response. “I am, please”, he shot a confused look up at the man laying beneath him, “please don’t stop”. Zee tilted his head down, squeezed his eyes shut and smiled, he could feel the love spilling through him and he was now certain that Saint could feel it too.

He moved up and hovered his body over him and kissed his cheek before running his hands under Saint’s shirt. He gripped the bottom of it before slowly pulling it over his head and staring down at the bare chest beneath him, he kissed it delicately before growing an insatiable hunger for the neck that offered itself to him. His tongue licked across the arch in his neck before closing his lips to it, just slightly leaving a gap between his teeth to let his tongue tickle the skin below it.  
Saint’s breathing became shallow and his hands wanted nothing more than to cling on to the man who is causing such a disruption to all of his senses. He managed to pull his arms up and run his fingers through Zee’s hair and he traced circles with his tongue against Saint’s skin.  
He started trembling under the touch of a hand running drown his chest, slightly dragging across his nipple and down the side of his stomach which tickled beyond belief and he found that it sent waves of pleasure even lower. The movement continued down his body as it came to a halt right above the hem of his pants. A moment in time stopped as Zee looked up once again to be assured that it’s okay to continue, Saint just nodded with approval and clear desperation.  
Zee went back to leaving small bites across the collarbone as his hand moved down from the hem to the bulge that was hiding below his own torso as he hovered above Saint.  
“Oh”, a shutter of shock hitched in the back of his throat as he felt the warmth against his hard member. The friction of the hand rubbing up and down wasn’t enough, he wanted more so he pushed up in the grasp and offered himself completely. This stopped Zee and he sat up next to Saint who was clearly glowing next to him, he reached down to remove the pants that were restriction the pleasure and as a result, the one laying down huffed; it was beautiful to listen to his pleasure.

He didn’t want to hesitate; therefore, he slowly pushed his hand forward and held the member gently in his grip. The tugging motion began as he lowered himself down and kissed Saint’s stomach once again, the slightly salty taste washed over his tongue. The sweat that was escaping his body from the rising temperature within his core was now meeting with Zee’s mouth. The taste wasn’t overbearing but somewhat intoxicating as he knew that it belonged to the one that he loved. His pace fastened and he went for Saint’s juicy lips in the moment and began fervently taking the lower lip between his, sucking and teasing it with the tip of his tongue. Unbridled moans began curdling and spilling out and filling the room that was rising with heat and tension. The wrist movements became tighter and more pace was added as he was trying to help Saint reach a point of ecstasy, a rupture of euphoria.

Saint was panting and near begging to reach the orgasm that was charging for release, sweat dripping down almost every inch of his body as he gripped onto the bed sheets with one hand and Zee’s shoulder with the other. No amount of concentration could put any words together to create a sentence, his mind drew a blank as he tightened his stomach.  
Awaiting the bliss, he released, and the warm blanket of his orgasm spilled and coated the hand that was holding onto the throbbing member.  
After a few moments, Zee finally released his grip and let the other take a few moments to come back down from the high. “Wait here, I am going to get something to clean you up with”, he had already started exiting the room as he spoke.  
A few moments had passed, and he re-entered the room with a warm cloth to clean Saint up, he had already washed his own hands just moments before.  
After they were both clean, calm and comfortable they rolled over to face each other. A soft kiss met with another as they both leaned in to meet. “Thank you”, Saint whispered but Zee immediately shook his head, “don’t thank me, just promise me that you will let me make you that happy again”, he placed a kiss on the others head and pulled him in so they could cuddle. Saint never responded but smiled adoringly. He removed the grip around him and shuffled over to turn off the lamp before returning to the warm embrace.   
“Goodnight Zee, I love you”, he rubbed his finger over the chest that was resting under his head. “Goodnight my angel, I love you too”, Zee replied and they both fell into a world of slumber, dreamless because for the first time they had a reason to believe that their reality was far better than anything their minds could concoct. 


	31. Announcement

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is keeping themselves safe during this dreadful time.   
I hate to be a bother, but I am apologizing in advance as this is not a chapter update.

In fact I came here with an apology, I am aware that I have been lacking a little in terms of updating regularly over the past few weeks and I want to let everyone know that I am sorry. Currently I am struggling quite bad with my mental health, my anxiety and depression has spiraled a little and it has become quite draining. Because of this, I haven’t felt as though I could write a chapter to its full potential and I don’t wish to disappoint anyone. I promise that I will continue to update and I won’t give in to this darkness, I am just doing my best to control it for now. I will never give up on this story until it is completed, I have worked so hard and it is one of very few things that I am truly proud of and because of it I have communicated with some truly amazing people.

I just want to say thank you to every single person who has read, commented, left a vote and just been kind to me. I appreciate it more than you could imagine and I hope you can accept my apology, be understanding and bear with me.

Thank you everyone, I love every one of you!  
  
LittlePoet xx


	32. Chapter 31

The morning grew warm as the hours passed by, Saint was steadily rising from his dreamless slumber with a hint of something brewing in the pit of his stomach. A sense of insecurity rose in his chest as he feared that after last night’s ordeal, he had begun to feel embarrassed laced with a sense of guilt for feeling such emotion after sharing such an intimate moment with the one he loves endlessly.

He grows pale as he detaches his body from under Zee’s, carefully shifting and praying not to wake him as he exits the bed with a gentle shuffle. The sound of the water spraying against the shower floor only added to the pressure of the ringing in his ears as he continued to caress the doubts in his mind. A flood of water poured over him as he stepped under the shower head, running his hands across his flustered face, trying to grasp at any form of energy that wasn’t the one already haunting him. As his eyes remain closed, the moment in time where he felt such euphoria flashed within him, sending that pang of emotion into his stomach yet again. As an initial thought, he assumed and suspected that what he was feeling was unsettling, sheepish even. His head drooped as he let the weight push down on him, only to realise that it wasn’t what he had thought and that he was re-entering a state of arousal after picturing the events from the night prior. Mistaking ecstasy for a form of fear was in itself embarrassing to admit he thought.

Coming to terms with his reaction, he found himself growing unexpectedly within his hand as he held his member against his lower torso. A light exhales escaped his lips as he shook his head. A creak in the room crawled across and into the shower with him, climbing up his body and inserting itself into his range of hearing, he shot a glance towards the bathroom door where the disturbance had occurred and to his astonishment, Zee was entering the room.

A fumbling man made his announcement to the bathroom by sharing his presence over by the mirror. Still half asleep, he checks his face before running cold water over it, freshening himself up. A stretch grazed its way across the land of a body he inhabited before he nonchalantly turned his head to face Saint in the shower. Saint was barely hiding his expression let alone the member under his palm as Zee walks towards the shower carelessly.

Zee approached the shower before leaning up against it, sharing the small space between them. His body tilted as the warm glass pressed against the side of his body before he spoke up, “can I join you?”.

A fumble and stumble grew known as Saint tried to form a sentence, eventually spitting his words out like poison. “If you just give me a minute, I am almost done and you can have the shower!”, he came across as if insulted, which only had him internally berating himself for his outburst. “I mean, I’m sorry, I’m just…”, he paused and held eye contact with Zee, “nervous”.

“Don’t be”, he smiled.

The lack of clothing that hugged Zee’s lower body was now gracefully falling to his ankles. Sheer terror filled Saint's mind as he shot his gaze to the shower wall, averting his eyes from the subject that will soon be standing behind him. As the shower door releases its grip to the seal, a brisk chill entered and ran along him, blooms of goosebumps grew across the plains of skin beneath. The chill was soothed with the warmth of Zee surrounding Saint in an embrace from behind. A slither around his waist was expected of the hands of the man who entered the steamy room, he nuzzled his nose into the nape of his neck, “see, this isn’t so bad, is it?”, he asked rhetorically.

“You are still tense, let me help”, he began, “do you trust me?”, he whispered into Saint's ear. As a response, he nodded and Zee removed his grasp from around the waist and began kneading the knots that were imbedded deep within his shoulders. Small circles and warm touches continued to rub and caress against the stressed skin, until a moment of silence is broken with a small yelp coming from Saint's mouth, his body jolting.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you”, Zee spoke gently as he started placing kisses across his back, trailing them slowly down to his shoulder, then arm before turning Saint around to face him, lastly placing a kiss on his lips, softly. Only moments later did Zee realise the tension that grew between Saint’s legs. A twang of excitement curdled within Zee as he pulled back and held him in an embrace from behind once again. He begins running his fingers over Saint's chest before trickling down to play with the hairs that were now standing, the trail that leads to a dangerous, erotic zone. Beneath his touch, he can feel Saint trembling as his breath becomes sharp and quick.

Too dazzled by Saints aura he fails to acknowledge that there was now more than one standing member within this tight space. The sudden turn of events caused Saint to stop trembling and start quietly laughing. “I guess I was nervous for nothing, turns out I’m not the only one who lacks self-control”, he laid his head back onto Zee’s shoulder before tilted to the side and giving him a cheeky kiss. He returned his head to its upwards position and started humming a sweet tune, happiness enveloped them both, “we should save water more often”, Zee finally spoke up.

Whilst Saint continued to rest his head and hummed, Zee reached across and held the shower gel in his palm. The squelch of liquid poured into his awaiting palm before he placed the bottle back now, “may I?”, he asked. A gentle agreeing hum directed at this question led to Zee’s hands running across every inch of skin on Saint’s body. The soapy substance touched the most intimate of places that were on show, Zee carefully ran his hands across him before kneeling and running his grip thoroughly up and down Saint’s legs. Now at eye level was Saint's erection, “can I wash this?”, he questioned. “Y-yes”, was all he managed to choke out.

Slowly he lathered the member up with the gel and above him was Saint throwing his head back, he was thoroughly engaging in an unquestionable euphoria. After thoroughly making sure that he was absolutely clean, Zee pushed him back a few steps, ensuring that the water would wash all of the soapy mess down the drain below. Despite no longer having an excuse to hold such a thing, he continued to take it in his hand, gently rubbing it.

He took a deep breath and ran his tongue across the tip, Saint’s head jolted back up before looking down at Zee who was on his knees below him. “Is this okay?”, he asked and licked again. “Tell me to stop if you want”, and then he took Saint’s head into his mouth, just gently rubbing his tongue across the tip which caused Saint to groan. He stayed like this for a little while, taking his time because he was for one, nervous but most of all he wanted to make sure that Saint was okay with this, this is a first for both of them and he didn’t want to move at a pace that didn’t suit Saint.

Eventually, he moved further down and took more into his mouth until it was full and hitting the back of this throat. He unexpectedly coughed as it touched the sensitive area within, this causing Saint to look down worried, “you don’t have to do this, it’s okay, I don’t want to hurt you!”, but Zee just smiled, “you aren’t hurting me, this is just new to me, okay?”, he just nodded back.

Zee continued excitedly, gradually increasing his speed, teasing him, pulling back to run his tongue across the tip and down the shaft. With the growing enjoyment, eventually, he found it most pleasing to use both the warmth of his mouth, accompanied by the tight grip of his palm. 

Saint was almost bucking into the grasp around his member when he started pleading with Zee, “I can’t hold this much longer, you should stop, I don’t want to make you swall-“, but inevitably, it was too late as he let the ecstasy consume him and the warm liquid sat at the back of Zee’s mouth. The sudden explosion that was entirely his own fault needed to go somewhere and his curiosity peaked, allowing him to swallow it. A cough leaped from his throat straight afterward.

The apologies ran wild like horses, one sorry after the other as Saint crouched down to Zee’s level, holding his face.

Zee assured him that an apology was not necessary at all, he enjoyed himself and hoped that the feeling was mutual. They both got up and held each other once more. A moment of silence was broken when Saint started to speak. “Zee, I’m sorry that I haven’t done anything like that for you, it’s just that, well. I am really nervous that I won’t be any good at it”, he slumped over and rested his head against Zee’s slowly rising and lowering chest. Reassurance was given and it was noted that they would go at a pace that he felt comfortable with, always.

“At any rate, your water bill will be exceptionally large if we don’t get out soon”, he laughed and they both exited the shower. They both took the time to wipe away any excess water that still lay upon their bodies, both chatting lightly as they entered the other room to get dressed. After finally returning to an acceptable level of calmness, they agreed to take a trip to the café for some nostalgia. . “You should bring your camera”, Saint suggested as he was grabbing his coat. “I think I might, let’s go get Happy from my place, I’ll grab my camera whilst we are there”.

They exited the apartment and drove off, stopping briefly at the Zee’s place to grab Happy and the other essentials before heading to the café and grabbing a coffee to take away. The taste of bitterness quenched the hunger for caffeine on his tongue, “delightful”, he spoke as they walked down to the park. Upon arrival, Happy begged against his knees to let him roam free and with that he let him off the leash to run around and bask in the sun, roll in the grass and chase the ducks.

With the day only providing warmth and joy, Saint followed Happy down to the ducks, crouching down to give him a scratch under the chin. Laughter escaped him as he felt complete, pure bliss and from afar Zee was taking photos and admiring the masterpiece that unfolded in front of his lens.

At this moment, it finally occurred to him that this was it, he knew he had been forever chasing, hopelessly, and utterly trying to fill that empty space in his heart. He was completely devoted to this man before him, and he was certain that they would be able to bare any obstacles that may be thrown their way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for making it this far! I just moved across from Wattpad to here, so I will be posting all current chapters in one lump sum, however this story is still ongoing, I generally update weekly. Enjoy :)


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